Vanderbilt Baseball Top MLB Draft Prospects | College Baseball Showdown
Vanderbilt Baseball Top MLB Draft Prospects | College Baseball Showdown
A look at Vanderbilt baseball’s top MLB draft prospects, including Austin Nye, Ryker Waite and other standout Commodores to watch in 2026.
Vanderbilt Baseball will take the field at Globe Life Field with several of the most intriguing draft prospects in the Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown, including a pair of players already drawing first-round buzz for 2027.
Right-hander Austin Nye headlines the group after emerging as one of the nation’s top midweek starters in 2025. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore posted a 3.55 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings and has positioned himself as a top-10 college prospect for next year’s draft, according to Baseball America.
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Nye works in the low 90s and has touched 95 mph, complementing his fastball with a sharp slider and an effective changeup.
Switch-hitting shortstop Ryker Waite also has elevated his profile. Waite impressed on the Cape Cod League stage, hitting .287 with a .409 on-base percentage and 13 stolen bases. He pairs plus bat-to-ball skills with strong defensive instincts at shortstop.
Corner infielder Brodie Johnston brings power after launching 15 home runs in 2025, while Rustan Rigdon adds speed and on-base ability after posting a .431 on-base percentage with 19 steals.
Together, Vanderbilt’s young core gives the Commodores high-end talent to watch throughout opening weekend in Arlington, Texas.
Here are the Top MLB Draft 2026 Prospects For Vanderbilt Baseball
Here are the top prospects for Vanderbilt eligible for this year's draft.
Connor Fennell, LHP
Fennell is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound left-hander who transferred from Dayton to Vanderbilt for 2025, posting a 2.53 ERA with a 35.5% strikeout rate in 53 1/3 innings. Though his fastball averages just 87.6 mph and tops out at 91, his sidearm slot creates a flat approach angle and 26% miss rate. He complements it with an upper-70s changeup and low-70s slider.
Carter Johnstone, 3B
Johnstone, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound third baseman, transferred to Vanderbilt after earning Big West freshman of the year honors at Cal State Fullerton in 2025. Born in Hungary and raised in Spain and California, the left-handed hitter batted .344/.431/.535 with seven home runs.
Draft-eligible in 2026, Johnstone stands out for his advanced contact skills and disciplined approach more than traditional corner power.
Top 2027 MLB Draft Eligible Prospects At The College Baseball Showdown
These players aren't eligible to be drafted in July 2026, but they will be among the most watched players in college baseball this season, according to Baseball America.
Austin Nye, Vanderbilt Baseball, RHP
Baseball America ranks Nye as the No. 9 college prospect in next year's draft. A 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander for the Commodores he, has positioned himself for a prominent draft spot in 2027 after posting a 3.55 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 50.2 innings as one of the nation’s top midweek starters.
He works in the low 90s and has touched 95 mph, pairing his fastball with a sharp low-80s slider and an effective changeup that misses bats, particularly against left-handed hitters.
Ryker Waite, Vanderbilt Baseball, SS
Waite, a 5-foot-10, 176-pound switch-hitting shortstop, impressed in the South Florida Collegiate League before breaking out in the Cape Cod League, where he hit .287/.409/.417 with eight extra-base hits and 13 steals to earn all-star honors.
He shows plus bat-to-ball skills, strong hand speed and quality contact, with his hit tool ahead of his power. His plus speed and instincts make him a strong defensive fit at shortstop.
Brodie Johnston, Vanderbilt Baseball, 3B
Johnston, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound third baseman, earned Appalachian League all-star honors before arriving at Vanderbilt and won the starting job in 2025. He hit .260/.297/.534 with 30 extra-base hits, including 15 home runs, and 55 RBIs.
Johnston shows physicality, bat speed and power but made contact at a 66% clip with a 38% chase rate, leaving room for improved swing decisions.
Rustan Rigdon, Vanderbilt Baseball, OF/3B
Rigdon, a 6-foot, 185-pound outfielder/third baseman, hit .259/.431/.346 with nine extra-base hits, 25 RBIs and 19 stolen bases as a Vanderbilt regular. A plus runner, he pairs advanced swing decisions with a disciplined approach, chasing just 16% of the time.
Better from the left side, Rigdon features a smooth swing and quality at-bats.
2026 Shriners Children’s Baseball Showdown
Feb. 13, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech
- 4:00 PM ET: TCU vs. Vanderbilt
- 8:00 PM ET: Oklahoma St vs. Arkansas
Feb. 14, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Texas Tech vs. Vanderbilt
- 4:00 PM ET: Oklahoma St vs. Oklahoma
- 8:00 PM ET: Arkansas vs. TCU
Feb. 15, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Vanderbilt vs. Oklahoma St
- 3:30 PM ET: Texas Tech vs. Arkansas
- 7:30 PM ET: TCU vs. Oklahoma
College Baseball Series In Surprise, Arizona
Feb. 13, 2026
- 4:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St
- 8:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Arizona
Feb. 14, 2026
- 4:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Oregon St
- 8:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Stanford
Feb. 15, 2026
- 2:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Oregon St
- 6:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Michigan
Feb. 16, 2026
- 2:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 2
Feb. 20, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Florida St
- 4:00 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Louisville
- 8:00 PM ET: Auburn vs. Kansas St
Feb. 21, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Louisville vs. Michigan
- 4:00 PM ET: Florida St vs. Auburn
- 8:00 PM ET: Kansas St vs. Nebraska
Feb. 22, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Auburn vs. Louisville
- 3:30 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Florida St
- 7:30 PM ET: Michigan vs. Kansas St
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 3
Feb. 27, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Mississippi St
- 4:00 PM ET: UCLA vs. Tennessee
- 8:00 PM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Texas A&M
Feb. 28, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Tennessee vs. Arizona St
- 4:00 PM ET: Mississippi St vs. Virginia Tech
- 8:00 PM ET: Texas A&M vs. UCLA
Mar. 1, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
- 3:30 PM ET: UCLA vs. Mississippi St
- 7:30 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Texas A&M
When Is The 2026 MLB Draft?
The MLB Draft begins the Sunday of MLB All-Star Week, which is being held in Philadelphia from July 11-July 14.
2026 MLB Draft Order
- Chicago White Sox
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Minnesota Twins
- San Francisco Giants
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Kansas City Royals
- Baltimore Orioles
- Oakland Athletics
- Atlanta Braves
- Colorado Rockies
- Washington Nationals
- Los Angeles Angels
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Miami Marlins
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Texas Rangers
- Houston Astros
- Cincinnati Reds
- Cleveland Guardians
- Boston Red Sox
- San Diego Padres
- Detroit Tigers
- Chicago Cubs
- Seattle Mariners
- Milwaukee Brewers
The 2026 MLB Draft Top 100 Prospects
Rank Name Position Age School Commitment
1 Roch Cholowsky SS 20 UCLA --
2 Grady Emerson SS 17 Fort Worth Christian Texas
3 Justin Lebron SS 21 Alabama --
4 Jacob Lombard SS 18 Gulliver Prep Miami
5 Derek Curiel OF 20 LSU --
6 Tyler Spangler SS 18 De La Salle Stanford
7 Liam Peterson RHP 20 Florida --
8 Sawyer Strosnider OF 20 TCU --
9 Cameron Flukey RHP 20 Coastal Carolina --
10 Drew Burress OF 21 Georgia Tech --
11 AJ Gracia OF 21 Virginia --
12 Carson Bolemon LHP 18 Southside Christian Wake Forest
13 Gio Rojas LHP 18 Stoneman Douglas Miami
14 Ace Reese 3B 20 Mississippi State --
15 Jackson Flora RHP 20 UC Santa Barbara --
16 Chris Hacopian SS 21 Texas A&M --
17 Eric Becker SS 20 Virginia --
18 Tyler Bell SS 20 Kentucky --
19 Vahn Lackey C 20 Georgia Tech --
20 Logan Schmidt LHP 17 Ganesha LSU
21 Coleman Borthwick RHP 17 South Walton Auburn
22 Caden Sorrell OF 20 Texas A&M --
23 Blake Bowen OF 17 JSerra Oregon State
24 Chris Rembert 2B 20 Auburn --
25 Jensen Hirschkorn RHP 17 Kingsburg LSU
26 Gavin Grahovac 3B 20 Texas A&M --
27 Brady Harris OF 17 Trinity Christian Florida
28 Trevor Condon OF 17 Etowah Tennessee
29 Aiden Ruiz SS 18 The Stony Brook Vanderbilt
30 Gabe Gaeckle RHP 21 Arkansas --
31 Eric Booth OF 17 Oak Gove Vanderbilt
32 Kaden Waechter RHP 18 Jesuit Florida State
33 Caden Bogenpohl OF 20 Missouri State --
34 Will Brick C 17 Christian Brothers Mississippi State
35 Joseph Contreras RHP 17 Blessed Trinity Vanderbilt
36 Tegan Kuhns RHP 20 Tennessee --
37 Zion Rose OF 20 Louisville --
38 Savion Sims RHP 18 Prestonwood Christian Oklahoma
39 Maddox Molony SS 21 Oregon --
40 Joey Volchko RHP 20 Georgia --
41 Jarren Advincula 2B 20 Georgia Tech --
42 Cole Carlon LHP 20 Arizona State --
43 Chase Brunson OF 20 TCU --
44 Rocco Maniscalco SS 16 Oxford Mississippi State
45 Ryder Helfrick C 20 Arkansas --
46 Tommy LaPour RHP 20 TCU --
47 Ryan Lynch RHP 20 North Carolina --
48 Cole Koeninger SS/RHP 18 Keller Tennessee
49 Beau Peterson 3B 18 Mill Valley Texas
50 Landon Thome 2B/3B 18 Nazareth Academy Florida State
51 Lucas Moore OF 20 Louisville --
52 Daniel Cuvet 3B 20 Miami --
53 Denton Lord RHP 18 South Walton --
54 Kevin Roberts OF 17 Jackson Prep Florida
55 James Clark SS 18 St. John Bosco Princeton
56 Connor Comeau SS/3B 17 Anderson Texas A&M
57 Andrew Costello C 18 Cathedral Prep Wake Forest
58 Trey Rangel RHP 18 The Colony Texas
59 Jake McCoy LHP 20 South Carolina --
60 Keon Johnson SS 17 First Presbyterian --
61 Eli Herst RHP 17 Seattle Academy Vanderbilt
62 Henry Ford OF 21 Tennessee --
63 Blake Bryant RHP 18 Citizen Christian Clemson
64 Jason DeCaro RHP 19 North Carolina --
65 Gavin Gallaher 3B 21 North Carolina --
66 Archer Horn SS 17 St. Ignatius Stanford
67 Trey Beard LHP 21 Florida Atlantic --
68 Cooper Sides RHP 18 Orange Lutheran LSU
69 Sean Duncan LHP 17 Terry Fox (Canada) Vanderbilt
70 Hunter Dietz LHP 20 Arkansas --
71 Ethan Bass SS 18 Glenbrook North Wake Forest
72 Noah Wilson OF 18 McCallie Vanderbilt
73 Carson Tinney C 20 Texas --
74 Shane Sdao LHP 22 Texas A&M --
75 Aidan Knaak RHP 21 Clemson --
76 Owen Kramkowski RHP 20 Arizona --
77 Kade Lewis 1B 20 Wake Forest --
78 Gary Morse RHP 18 Orange Lutheran Tennessee
79 Tre Broussard OF 20 Houston --
80 Jorvorskie Lane OF 17 Grapevine Arkansas
81 Matt Ponatoski SS 17 Moeller Kentucky
82 Jake Brown OF 20 LSU --
83 Malachi Washington OF 17 Parkview LSU
84 Logan Hughes OF 20 Texas Tech --
85 Steven Milam SS/2B 21 LSU --
86 Brady Ballinger 1B 20 Kansas --
87 Blake Morningstar RHP 20 Wake Forest --
88 Ethan Kleinschmit LHP 20 Oregon State --
89 Brett Renfrow RHP 20 Virginia Tech --
90 Will Yow SS 18 St. Anne's-Belfield Virginia
91 Ricky Ojeda LHP 20 UC Irvine --
92 Dominic Santarelli 1B 18 St. Joseph --
93 Andrew Williamson OF 20 Central Florida --
94 Wilson Andersen RHP 17 Jesuit Mississippi State
95 Jason Amalbert SS 18 DePaul Oklahoma
96 Ethan Norby LHP 20 East Carolina --
97 Cade Townsend RHP 20 Mississippi --
98 Alex Hernandez 2B/OF 20 Georgia Tech --
99 Wes Mendes LHP 21 Florida State --
100 Cole Prosek 3B 18 Magnolia Heights Mississippi
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