Vanderbilt's Tournament Hopes Hang in the Balance
Vanderbilt entered the weekend series against South Carolina with a 32‑24 overall record and a 14‑16 mark in SEC play, having won only four of ten conference series throughout the season.
The Commodores sit at No. 74 in the RPI, a position that historically has been a steep climb to an at‑large bid; the highest RPI for a team that made the tournament as an at‑large selection was TCU at 59th in 2019.
Adding to the difficulty are losses to programs that will not be in the NCAA field, including defeats to Missouri, Indiana and Central Arkansas, which have further weakened the résumé despite a strong finish to the regular season.
With the SEC Tournament on the horizon, Vanderbilt’s only realistic path to preserve its 19‑year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances is to make a deep run in the conference championship.