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Riley Nelson challenges recruits after Vanderbilt elminates Vols: 'I think you know which school you should choose'

Danby:Daniel Hager•05/24/25•

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Vanderbilt first baseman Riley Nelson (32) watches his RBI single against Xavier during the fourth inning at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 7, 2025. Vanderbilt won 15-3 in seven innings. © Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vanderbilt‘s blistering run to the NCAA Tournament continued on Saturday, as it run-ruled rival Tennessee 10-0 in their SEC Tournament Semifinal matchup. The win marked the Commodores’ first run-rule victory over their in-state rival since May 5, 1992.

In the win, all nine Vanderbilt batters notched a hit and five drove in a run. One of these major contributors was junior first baseman Riley Nelson, who went 2-4 at the plate with two RBI. Nelson, who transferred to the program this offseason after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Western Texas College and Yavapai College, fueled some more rivalry flames postgame.

“It’s awesome,” Nelson responded when asked about run-ruling an in-state rival in Tennessee. “We don’t like those guys and they don’t like us. I think it’s the best rivalry in college baseball right now. If you’re a young kid getting recruited by both these schools, I think you know which school you should choose.”

Just two weekends ago, these teams met in Knoxville where Vanderbilt took the final two games of the weekend to win the series. Following the Commodores’ 7-5 victory in the series finale on May 11, benches cleared after Tennessee refused a postgame handshake line.

Following the Saturday win over Tennessee, Vanderbilt has now won the season series over the ‘Vols for the first time since 2019. That season, the Commodores went on to win the Men’s College World Series.

“We don’t try to do too much at the plate,” Nelson said postgame. “Our guys try to stick to our approach using the whole field. We pride ourselves on not trying to swing for the fences because at this park and parks going forward because it’s not going to work. That’s what we stuck to.”

Vanderbilt is headed towards the NCAA Tournament as the hottest team in all of college baseball, as its won 11 of its last 14 games and is now the No. 1 overall team in the RPI Rankings. Head coach Tim Corbin and his team looks to be in great position to advance to a Super Regional for the first time since it lost to Mississippi State in the 2021 Men’s College World Series Championship.

With Saturday’s win, the No. 4 seeded Vanderbilt Commodores are back in the SEC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2023. It will clash with the Tournament’s cinderella in No. 7 Ole Miss on Sunday at 12:00 pm CT/1:00 pm ET.