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Young Commodores not the same team that won 2019 College World Series

The Tennessean photo by George Walker IV via AP / Vanderbilt's Isaiah Thomas (8) is congratulated by teammates Jack Bulger (16), CJ Rodriguez (5) and Dominic Keegan after his grand slam in the 11th inning against Georgia Tech early Monday in Nashville to wrap up an NCAA regional.
The Tennessean photo by George Walker IV via AP / Vanderbilt's Isaiah Thomas (8) is congratulated by teammates Jack Bulger (16), CJ Rodriguez (5) and Dominic Keegan after his grand slam in the 11th inning against Georgia Tech early Monday in Nashville to wrap up an NCAA regional. The Tennessean photo by George Walker IV via AP / Vanderbilt's Isaiah Thomas (8) is congratulated by teammates Jack Bulger (16), CJ Rodriguez (5) and Dominic Keegan after his grand slam in the 11th inning against Georgia Tech early Monday in Nashville to wrap up an NCAA regional.

By TERESA M. WALKER / The Associated Press 4 min read

NASHVILLE – The Vanderbilt Commodores are two wins away from returning to the College World Series and the chance to bookend the coronavirus pandemic with national championships.

But this isn’t the same baseball team that walked off the field in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2019 after winning the most recent CWS.

“This team, it has to wear the badge of being a Vanderbilt team obviously, and it’s applied to winning in ’19, but it’s not the same group of kids,” Commodores coach Tim Corbin said Wednesday. “It’s just a completely different group of guys who wear the same colors.”

Not only did Vanderbilt go 59-12 that season to set the Southeastern Conference record for wins, the Commodores beat Michigan for their second national championship since 2014.

Corbin noted his 2019 team had several players who returned to play that season, decisions motivated by the death of a teammate a day before Vanderbilt’s NCAA regional in 2016. Star freshman pitcher Donny Everett drowned during a fishing trip, and the Commodores’ promising season ended in two quick losses.