Contributing:
Jheremy Brown, Mike Rooney
2015 Perfect Game College Baseball Final Top 25
2015
Player of the Year: Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt
Although
Vanderbilt didn't walk away from the 2015 season as repeat Nation
Champions they did finish the season as the 2015 College World Series
runner-ups, capping a very successful season in which they opened the
year ranked as Perfect Game's No. 1 overall team. They lost to
Virginia – who opened the year No. 2 – in a rematch of last
year's College World Series Finals, a team that appeared to be
determined to win it all after serving as the runner-up a year ago.
On
a team full of impact talent, none stood out more than Vanderbilt's
star shortstop Dansby Swanson.
Swanson
was named the Most Oustanding Player from last year's championship,
and although he didn't have as great of an impact in Omaha this year,
he did enjoy a phenomonal season that saw every aspect of his game
improve dramatically.
“I
think the experience of everything we went through last year has
helped us this year,” Swanson told Perfect Game from Omaha. “We
went through similar stretches last year and learned how to battle
through it. This year we were better able to handle things that came
up. We learned how to win all year because of the target on our back
and we learned how to play our best ball when it matters.”
He
hit right around .350 for most of the season, finishing the 2015
campaign with a .335/.423/.623 triple slash line. And all of his
power numbers jumped up, with 45 extra-base hits (24 doubles, 6
triples, 15 home runs), 64 driven in and 76 runs scored. He also
swiped 16 bases in 18 attempts serving as the Commodores' No. 3
hitter for most of the year.
“I
like to think that I'm trying to be good at everything,” Swanson
continued. “That's how I've always worked out and trained and
everything like that. It wasn't anything specific that I was trying
to get better at, I just wanted to become the best baseball player I
could be, and that's still my mission and goal.”
Swanson's
biggest statement performance may have come during one of his last
games. In a Super Regional matchup against Illinois in Champaign,
Swanson collected both a double and a home run off of electric Illini
lefthander Tyler Jay, the No. 6 overall pick in the draft.
Vanderbilt
won that game 4-2 which secured a berth in the 2015 College World
Series for the second consecutive season.
As
the season opened big things were expected of Swanson, even if his
production surpassed those hopes, and was ranked the sixth-best
player eligible for the 2015 MLB Draft. That ranking moved up to No.
3 in the weeks leading up to the draft, and on draft day itself he
found himself selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the first
overall pick.
“It's
something you always dream of and when you get there it's
ridiculous,” Swanson added of his draft fortunes. “It's something
you can't caught up on because there's still so much baseball left to
play. It doesn't mean anything anymore. It's crazy, it's an honor,
it's a great organization, it's just pretty surreal that it happened
to me.
“I'd
by lying if I said there weren't distractions and things didn't cross
my mind, but for me I was lucky and blessed to have Carson (Fulmer)
and Walker (Buehler). We could be outlets (for each other) to talk
about things. They understood everything we were going through and we
didn't want to talk to our teammates about it because we didn't want
them to think our mind and focus was all on the draft.”
After
playing second base during his sophomore season, Swanson slid over to
shortstop to take the place of Vince Conde, a senior leader on the
2014 National Championship team that provided rock-solid defense up
the middle. Swanson didn't miss a beat, making just eight errors at
the position good for a near-perfect .974 fielding percentage for one
of the most demanding positions on the field.
The
position wasn't new to Swanson, who played there throughout his high
school career, and welcomed the opportunity to move back when called
upon.
“I
think for me it was more of a transition to go from shortstop to
second base than it was from second to short, because I always played
shortstop and it's something I take pride in doing,” Swanson said
of the challenges the position switch presented. “Going back to
short I just needed to get my rhythm and reps back. Last year it
worked better for me to play second than short than the other way
around, it was more beneficial to the team, and I had no problem with
that.”
Success
is something that seems to come easy for Swanson. A native of
Kennesaw, Ga., that attended high school in Marietta, the East Cobb
program was right in his backyard. He attended 10 Perfect Game
tournament events, all with East Cobb Baseball, and finished his
travel ball career on top, winning the 2012 18u WWBA National
Championship with the East Cobb Yankees.
“My
first year when I was 17 we came in second at the big WWBA (National
Championship) in Georgia at East Cobb,” Swanson shared when asked
of his memories from playing on the travel ball circuit. “And the
next year (2012) we won it, so I've definitely enjoyed my moments in
those events. They were very professionally ran, especially with the
number of teams it was cool to see people from all over and meeting
new friends.
“But
from a playing perspective it's top-notch. You're facing the best
talent in the country at all times and it prepares you for the
college level and beyond.”
Although
there wasn't as much fanfare surrounding Swanson coming out of high
school, he was ranked by Perfect Game as the 151st top
high school prospect in the class of 2012. That led to him being
selected by the Rockies in the 38th round of the 2012
draft, which cemented his decision to honor his commitment to
Vanderbilt.
Because
of that decision he is now set to begin the next chapter in his life
as a professional baseball player with a lot of hardware to go with
it.
2015
Pitcher of the Year: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt
For
as much as Swanson propelled the Vanderbilt offense, their staff ace
Carson Fulmer set the tone to open weekend series throughout the
year. His best start may very well have been his last, going 7 2/3
innings in a 5-1 win over Virginia of the first game of the College
World Series Finals. In that game he allowed only two hits and a pair
of walks without giving up a run, while striking out eight.
Overall
in his college career Fulmer went 24-3, spending his first year
coming out of the bullpen and doing so again to open the 2014 season
before being moved to the weekend rotation. He also recorded 14
saves, 10 of which came over the first two months in that 2014
championship season, and will go down as one of the most impactful
student athletes in Vanderbilt history.
“When
I see Coach walking out, I know that's it,” Fulmer stated after his
final game on the mound for the Commodores. “And what made it big
for me was not only did I have Coach there but I had the whole
infield. And I consider those guys my best friends, and along with
the other guys on my team. And for me being able to spend that moment
with them and just look back on the brotherhood that we created, and
I'm on top of it with a win at the end of the game.??
“So
it's definitely a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life, and I
couldn't have asked for it to happen any better.”
Overall
Fulmer led the nation in wins with 14 (14-2) and finished second in
strikeouts (167). He also became just the fourth pitcher in SEC
history, and the first since Tennessee's Luke Hochevar in 2005, to
claim the league's pitching triple crown. Of his 19 starts Vanderbilt
went on to win 17 of them. And while the Commodores didn't win the
2015 College World Series, they finished as a more than respectable
runnerup after winning it all in 2014.
Along
with teammates and fellow first-round picks Dansby Swanson and Walker
Buehler, Fulmer arrived on campus with a lot of fanfare. He,
alongside outfielder Rhett Wiseman, was a Perfect Game All-American
in high school during the summer of 2011, and was selected eighth
overall in this year's draft by the Chicago White Sox. Armed with a
mid-90s fastball and hammer curve, Fulmer's competitiveness is
expected to more than compensate for his smaller stature at the next
level.
“As
the game progresses he just gets stronger,” Vanderbilt Head Coach
Tim Corbin said of his ace after his final game on the mound. “I've
used Joe Frazier, the fighter, as an analogy because he keeps coming
and he keeps throwing punches and he's just looking for your jaw;
he's not trying to maneuver around you. As a kid, we just haven't had
many like him. But he's a special, special competitor, and he'll go
down as one of the greatest pitchers to ever pitch at Vanderbilt.”
Video:
Carson Fulmer records two quick outs at the 2011 Perfect Game
All-American Classic.
2015
Freshman of the Year: Brendan McKay, Louisville
It
was a banner year for freshmen to make an impact on the college
baseball landscape, a group of players that will become the face of
the sport the next 2-3 years. J.J. Schwarz hit 18 home runs and drove
in 73 for the Florida Gators while Alex Lange was perfect on the
mound, going 12-0 with a 1.97 ERA for LSU, who spent the majority of
the season as Perfect Game's No. 1 team.
Brendan McKay (Photo: University of Louisville Sports Information)
However,
it was the unlikely contributions of Brendan McKay, on both sides of
the ball, that gave Louisville the boost they needed to enjoy an
incredibly successful first season in the ACC.
Although
Louisville didn't make it to Omaha, as their season came to an end in
Louisville at the hands of the visiting Cal State Fullerton Titans in
Super Regional play, the Cardinals wouldn't have been in a position
to be there without the contributions of their star freshman.
McKay
opened the year coming out of Louisville's bullpen, recording four
saves early in the year before it was quickly determined he would
have more value as a starter. He not only started, but did so on
Saturday nights sandwiched between eventual first-round pick Kyle
Funkhouser and draft-eligible sophomore lefty Josh Rogers.
While
Funkhouser was the more lauded impact performer coming into the year,
McKay had the greatest impact, posting a 9-3 record with a 1.77 ERA,
cementing the rotation in ACC play that led to a 25-5 conference
record. Louisville won each and every series they played in the ACC,
and McKay struck out 117 batters in 96 2/3 innings during his
inaugural college campaign.
And
for good measure he also posted a .308/.418/.431 triple slash line
with 14 doubles, four home runs and 34 driven in serving as an
integral cog in the middle of Louisville's lineup.
Read
more about McKay on Wednesday when we release our 2015 Freshman
All-America teams.
2015
Coach of the Year: Brian O'Connor, Virginia
Although
there were several candidates worthy of receiving Perfect Game's 2015
Coach of the Year award, including Illinois' Dan Hartleb,
Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin and Cal State Fullerton's Rick Vanderhook,
just to name a few, it was impossible not to go with the coach of the
National Champion Virginia Cavaliers.
The win in Omaha was especially sweet for O'Connor, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, just on the other side of the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb., whose likeness as a player for the 1991 College World Series Creighton Bluejays is depicted on the famous statue that greets fans as they enter TD Ameritrade Park.
At
one point in time it didn't even look as though Head Coach Brian
O'Connor would be in a position to navigate his ballclub in the NCAA
postseason. While Virginia entered the season as Perfect Game's No. 2
overall team – after their runnerup finish in last year's College
World Series – they routinely faced adversity during the regular
season, and finished the year out of the Top 25.
Injuries
to key performers made that road more difficult, as they opened the
year without outfielder Joe McCarthy and soon would lose utility
player John La Prise. Nathan Kirby, their ace heading into the year,
missed the final month of the season and didn't even take the mound
until Virginia's third game in Omaha.
But
right the ship they did.
Brian O'Connor (Photo: Matt Riley, Virginia Athletics)
Virginia
closed out the regular season 12-5, which included a series sweep of
North Carolina that allowed the Cavaliers to squeeze into the
postseason – and essentially knocked the Tar Heels out of it –
where they started their trek to Omaha as the No. 3 seed in the Lake
Elsinore Regional. Although they didn't face host UC Santa Barbara,
they did beat Southern California twice, and thanks to Maryland
walking away as the champion of the Los Angeles Regional, were able
to host the Terps in Super Regional play.
In
a Super Regional re-match from last year, O'Connor and his team made
quick work of Maryland, winning both games they played, which allowed
them to advance to the College World Series as an unlikely
participant.
“It
was tough given the situation and the challenges that we had
throughout the year,” Coach O'Connor told Perfect Game and SiriusXM
Radio the day before the College World Series kicked off. “Certainly
there were huge expections coming into the season. And all of those
expectations were set prior to McCarthy and La Prise (got injured).
We made a conscious decision as a team and we met a lot throughout
the sesason to determine how were were going to handle this. Every
group is different, and we chose to handle it throughout the season
(in a way to) create new opportunities for someone else.”
McCarthy
kicked off the CWS with a bang, hitting a no-doubt home run in his
first at-bat (one of only two hits he collected in Omaha), and Kirby
finished it, recording five of his six outs via strikeout in his two
inning save that propelled Virginia to the championship.
“It's
hard to describe, you come into the season with all of those
expectations and they were kind of squelched for a while,” O'Connor
continued. “And then in the end you're here standing on this field
in Omaha, Nebraska; it's awesome, very rewarding.”
And
as unlikely as Virginia was to finished the year on top, they also
ended a 60-year drought as the Cavaliers became the first team from
the ACC to walk away as champions of the College World Series since
Wake Forest in 1955.
“It's
been a nice job from a leadership standpoint. It's amazing that you
speak of those certain players and certain positions. If one or two
of those don't work out, we're not standing here. It took a
collection of a lot of different guys for them to be their best for
this to happen.”