Vanderbilt Announces Starting Pitchers for Opening Weekend

But the Commodores have the talent to rise to the top of the SEC and higher than its No. 16 ranking by D1Baseball.com.

A lot of that talent is on the pitching staff that could be dominant enough to prove the preseason predictions wrong and Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin is putting his three best pitchers on display to start the season.

The Commodores announced the starting pitchers for their three games at the 2025 MLB Desert Invitational. The starters, along with their career stats and 2024 season stats are listed below, as well as TV listings to watch Vanderbilt start the 2025 baseball season.

Vanderbilt at Grand Canyon, Friday, 7 p.m., MLB Network

Starting Pitcher: JD Thompson

• Career Stats: 7-2, 13 GS, 74 IP, 69 H, 42 R, 38 ER, 8 HR, 31 BB, 97 SO

• 2024: 5-2, 12 GS, 52 IP, 47 H, 27 R, 24 ER, 4 HR, 18 BB, 74 SO

Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska, Saturday, 7 p.m., MLB Network

Starting Pitcher: Ethan McElvain

• Career Stats: 1-2, 3.24 ERA, 25 IP, 20 H, 13 R, 9 ER, 3 HR, 15 BB, 29 SO

• 2024: 1-2, 3.24 ERA, 25 IP, 20 H, 13 R, 9 ER, 3 HR, 15 BB, 29 SO

Vanderbilt vs. UC Irvine, Sunday, 1 p.m., MLB.com

Starting Pitcher: Cody Bowker

• Career Stats: 6-2, 90 IP, 69 H, 33 R, 28 ER, 8 HR, 45 BB, 106 SO

• 2024 (at Georgetown): 5-1, 48 IP, 40 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 20, 59 SO

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI: