Vanderbilt freshman Brodie Johnston tipped his helmet, dug his spikes into the dirt and locked eyes with Ole Miss starting pitcher Walker Hooks. He took a slow, steady breath, squared the off-speed pitch up as it released and drove it over the left-field wall. Vanderbilt was up 2-0 in the SEC Championship; it would never surrender the lead, courtesy of Johnson.
Johnson finished the SEC title game 2 for 4 with a solo homer and two RBIs in the Commodores’ 3-2 victory over Ole Miss at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Johnson, though, got off to a slow start on the weekend, hitting 1 for4 in bothThursday’s opener against Oklahoma and Saturday’s win over Tennessee.
Sunday’s game, however, put things back on track for the 6-foot-2, 203-pounder. He ended the tournament 4 for 12 with two runs scored, a homer and two RBIs en route to MVP honors and a spot on the all-tournament team.
“He’s talented,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. “You can see his tools and whether it’s arm, bat, speed, strength, and he is continuing to play and he will continue to learn.”
After Riley Nelson was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the first, Johnston ambled to the plate and soaked in the moment. He squared Hooks’ mistake offering and sent it screaming over the wall, then paused to let the crowd’s eruption wash over him before rounding the bases.
“When he’s up to the plate,” Vanderbilt center fielder R.J. Austin said. “You couldn’t tell he was a freshman.”
Vanderbilt starter Austin Nye held Ole Miss scoreless through four innings before the Rebels cut the lead to 3-2 with an RBI single in the fifth. Reliever Luke Guth stranded the tying run at third with two outs, and freshman Jacob Humphrey restored a two-run cushion with a solo homer in the home half. From there, the Commodores’ bullpen preserved the lead and sealed their fifth SEC Tournament crown.
Johnston’s run in Hoover punctuated a freshman campaign defined by defensive excellence and clutch hitting. He made the Freshman All-SEC and All-Defensive teams after batting .254 with 12 homers and 51 RBIs, slugging .502 and reaching base at a .287 clip in 52 games overall. In conference play, he hit .211 with six homers and 26 RBIs, slugging .423 and posting a .240 on-base percentage in 30 SEC games.
In the second half of the season, Johnston’s bat came alive in the biggest spots. He homered twice and drove in seven runs in a win over No. 5 Georgia on April 18. He delivered a game-tying shot in the seventh inning a day earlier against the same Bulldogs. On May 2, against No. 18 Alabama, he collected three hits, including two doubles, and knocked in two runs. Two days later, he ripped a two-run, ninth-inning double to tie the game before Vanderbilt rallied for the win over the Crimson Tide.
“Brodie Johnston is a special kid,” Vanderbilt shortstop Jonathan Vastine said. “He’s a freak and a talent as a freshman.”
Vanderbilt sat at 8-7 in SEC play halfway through the year but closed the season as one of the nation’s hottest teams, winning four of its final five conference series to finish 19-11 in league action and 42-16 overall. The Commodores, who have qualified for 19 straight NCAA regionals, earned the No. 1 overall seed and will open against No. 4 Wright State at Hawkins Field on May 30.
Johnston’s freshman season began with lofty expectations and ended with a roar — the kind that echoes off a left-field wall and carries a team toward Omaha. His confidence and clutch swings are fueling a title run, setting Vanderbilt on a path back to the College World Series. In Johnston, the Commodores have seemingly found a postseason spark who could light the way.
