29Adley Rutschman’s distin-
guished career at Oregon
State included a national
championship in 2018, when
he was the Most Outstanding
Player at the College World
Series, and a decorated 2019
campaign in which he won
the BA College Player of the
Year, Pacific-12 Conference
player of the year and the
Golden Spikes Award.
SIGNATURE MOMENT
A 19-strikeout no-hitter in super regionals put a giant exclamation point on Kumar Rocker’s first season at Vanderbiltby TEDDY CAHILLKumar Rocker arrived at
Vanderbilt as a freshman
ready to contribute to the
Commodores’ rotation.
More importantly for his
future development, he
is ready and willing to be
coached.K
umar Rocker came to Vanderbilt last fall to much
fanfare. He had ranked No. 13 on the Baseball
America predraft prospect ranking and was the
highest ranked player to make it to campus after
falling to the 38th round of the 2018 draft.
The Commodores have had many touted recruits since
head coach Tim Corbin arrived in Nashville in 2003. They
have produced a slew of premium pitchers from David
Price to Mike Minor to Sonny Gray to Walker Buehler.
Rocker came to Vanderbilt expected to join that pipeline.
Listed at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds and armed with a huge
fastball, Rocker made it easy for scouts to dream on him.
He ratcheted up expectations even more with a stellar per-
formance in a fall game against Oklahoma State, striking
out eight batters in nine innings.
Rocker has at least met, if not exceeded, those lofty
expectations. He opened the season in the weekend rota-
tion and stayed there nearly the whole year, a rarity among
Vanderbilt’s elite pitchers. Entering the College World
Series, he had gone 10-5, 3.50 with 97 strikeouts and 18
walks in 87.1 innings. And when Vanderbilt needed him
the most, facing elimination against Duke in the Nashville
Super Regional, Rocker delivered the best performance of
any pitcher in college baseball this spring. He threw the
first no-hitter ever in super regionals and struck out 19
batters, a truly dominant performance.
As a result of his outstanding season, Rocker is the 2019
Baseball America Freshman of the Year.
Joining a team like Vanderbilt, which opened the season
as the No. 1 team in the country with national champion-
ship aspirations and a strong core of older players, isn’t
easy. But Rocker was able to make a smooth transition to
college and fit in with his new teammates.
Part of that certainly comes down to his ability. Rocker
has an overpowering fastball that routinely reaches the
upper 90s. His slider is a devastating pitch that he used for
all 19 of his strikeouts against Duke. He’s still working on
his changeup, but it’s in his arsenal when he needs it.
Rocker’s early success is a result of more than just pure
stuff, however.
“I think all those factors go into someone who is young
and who has the ability to jump inside an SEC environment
and pitch,” Corbin said. “It’s not easy, as we know, but
he’s taken on this great challenge and he’s been able to
manage it well because I think he’s a sponge.”
Still, Rocker scuffled early. He didn’t make it out of the
second inning in his debut against Texas Christian. For the
next few weeks he worked out of the bullpen in a piggyback
role before returning to the rotation at the start of SEC
play. There were still some ups and downs, but when he
threw seven scoreless innings against Arkansas on April 13,
he got on the track to consistent excellence.Rocker said his early-season struggles helped him grow.
“That start of the season definitely made me as a pitch-
er,” he said. “Through that I learned how to manage a
game, how to use pitches, how to bury the breaking ball,
simple things like that.”
The Vanderbilt coaching staff has found Rocker to be
very coachable. His parents Lalitha and Tracy, a former
NFL defensive lineman who currently is the defensive line
coach at Tennessee, have been an important presence.
Rocker said his father still helps him with the mental
game. All of that has made for a player who is supremely
talented but wants to get better.
“He came in here with an open mind and is very coach-
able,” pitching coach Scott Brown said. “He has high
standards for himself. But the pleasure of him is he wants
to be a really good teammate, he wants to be treated like a
Normal Joe and he really, really wants to be coached.” nCOLLEGE
& HIGH
SCHOOL
AWARDSCOLLEGE FRESHMAN OF THE YEARFRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
C Austin Wells Arizona
1B Aaron Sabato North Carolina
2B Cody Morissette Boston College
3B Alex Binelas Louisville
SS Josh Hood Pennsylvania
OF Ethan Wilson South Alabama
OF Tyler McDonough North Carolina State
OF Hunter Goodman Memphis
DH Adrian Del Castillo Miami
UT Davis Sharpe Clemson
SP JT Ginn Mississippi State
SP Doug Nikhazy Mississippi
SP Kumar Rocker Vanderbilt
SP Tyler Thornton St. Mary’s
RP Will Dion McNeese State
RP Michael McGreevy UC Santa Barbara