Tim Corbin

Tim Corbin

 Photo: David Russell

Vanderbilt’s record-setting 18th consecutive trip to the NCAA baseball tournament will take coach Tim Corbin back to a very familiar setting.

The Commodores (38-21) on Monday were announced as the second seed in the regional at Clemson, where Corbin served as an assistant coach from 1994-2001 and as associate head coach from 2001-02.

In addition, Corbin guided Vanderbilot to regional titles at Clemson in 2017 and 2018.

The Tigers’ head coach, Erik Bakich, served as a Vanderbilt assistant under Corbin from 2003-09.

Vandy’s streak of 18 straight regional appearances is not only the longest active in Division I, but also a record for SEC programs, snapping a tie with LSU.

Tennessee (50-11) is the tournament’s top seed after winning the SEC Tournament over the weekend, with the Vols to host a regional that includes Southern Miss, Indiana and Northern Kentucky.

The Vols and Commodores were two of a record 11 SEC teams to earn bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Joining top-seeded Clemson (41-14) and Vanderbilt are third-seeded Coastal Carolina (34-23) and fourth-seeded High Point (34-25).

The ‘Dores will open against Coastal Carolina on Friday at 11 a.m. CT (ESPN 2). A win would advance Vandy to a Saturday game at 4 p.m. CT, while a loss would mean Vandy plays on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.

There was some doubt heading into the SEC Tournament as to whether Vanderbilt would earn that 18th consecutive NCAA invitation, after losing 13 of its final 18 conference games. But Vandy knocked off Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi State in the league's post-season tournament to bolster its resume before falling to the Vols in a semifinal contest.

“Weve worked hard all year, so it’s not [surprising] for us to just bounce back because that’s the nature of our program,” Vandy catcher Alan Espinal told media. “It just keeps going. But we kind of put our head down in between all the noise and everything that people said, and just kept working. And here we are now.”

Vanderbilt outfielder Calvin Hewett was named to the all-tournament team after hitting .429 (6-for-13) with a home run, triple, double, four stolen bases, three RBI and three runs scored.

“I’m happy for them,” Corbin said. “It was certainly one of those situations that came down to the last couple of weeks, and we had a tough schedule at the end. Played through it and I liked how it finished for the guys in the tournament. Certainly happy for the program’s consistency.”

In Coastal Carolina (34-23), the Commodores face a Chanticleers team that rebounded from an eight-game losing streak during the regular season to win six of their final seven games. Coastal Carolina then went 1-2 at the Sun Belt Conference tournament, defeating Georgia State before losing to Southern Miss and Appalachian State.

The Chanticleers posted wins over four NCAA tournament teams this year (Illinois, James Madison, Louisiana and Wake Forest), but were swept by another tournament team (and fellow Sun Belt Conference member): Southern Miss.

Vanderbilt last won a regional in 2021 at Hawkins Field, with a team that eventually reached the College World Series.

Tennessee will open regional competition Friday at 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network) against Northern Kentucky.

The Vols are hosting a regional for the eighth time in program history and for the third time in four years. Should Tennessee advance, the Vols would also host a Super Regional the following weekend.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.