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College  | Recruiting  | 11/15/2022

Head of the Class: No. 2 Vanderbilt

Jheremy Brown     
Photo: Max Clark (Perfect Game)
2023 Recruiting Class Rankings | 2023 High School Player Rankings

2. Vanderbilt Commodores



Full 2023 Recruiting Class
Head Coach: Tim Corbin | Recruiting Coordinator: Mike Baxter

Top 5 Recruits:
Rank Name Pos. High School Hometown State
2 Maxwell Clark OF Franklin Community Franklin Indiana
6  Thomas White LHP Phillips Academy Rowley Massachusetts
20 Braden Holcomb 3B Foundation Academy Ocoee Florida
35 Ethan McElvain LHP Nolensville Thompsons Station Tennessee
43 George Lombard SS Gulliver Schools Pinecrest  Florida


It's become commonplace in doing this exercise each year to find Vanderbilt occupying one of the top handful of spots, and their 2023 class is no exception, led by a pair of of talents in outfielder Maxwell Clark and left-hander Thomas White, who've jockeyed with one another for the top spot throughout from the initial release of the class rankings. 

In the past we've seen the Commodores do a bit of damage in-state in regard to the recruiting trial, always expanding their reach, but gathering a chunk of Tennessee natives, though this class appears to buck the trend with just a pair of their 18 commits staying close to home. Of their other 16 commits, 13 of them come from different states, from Rhode Island down to Florida and over to Nebraska and California, helping assemble a crop of talent that features the aforementioned pair of top-10 talents and seven within the top 100.

Both Clark and White have been in the spotlight since their Perfect Game debuts, and rightfully so given their talents on the diamond. As physical as he is athletic, Clark excels in all areas of the game as he's loaded with fast-twitch muscle, standout arm strength and some of the best bat speed in the country, all tools that have the chance to change the outcome of a game in the blink of an eye. White burst onto the scene at the 14u BCS Championship and has seen his velocity steadily climb as the 6-foot-4 left-hander now peaks in the upper-90s with one of the easier releases you'll find and a pair of secondary pitches that seem to make huge leaps every time we see him toe the rubber. 

A pair of Floridian infielders could anchor the left side of the dirt for Head Coach Tim Corbin for the years to come in Braden Holcomb and shortstop George Lombard, with Holcomb manning the hot corner. One of the more physically imposing players in the 2023 class at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Holcomb has a rare combination of strength and athleticism and when the ball is squared up, few can replicate the way the ball behaves off his barrel with very real juice to all fields. Lombard, a 6.5 runner, will bring a speed component to the class (as will RJ Hamilton who ran a blistering 6.31 at the National Showcase), was outstanding to close out the summer with a run in the 17u WWBA that we simply hadn't seen before as he went 9-for-9 with a pair of home runs in the playoffs and helped carry his team deep into bracket play. Keep eyes on shortstop Camden Kozeal, and even though he hasn't been on the national scene much, his hit tool speaks for itself even in the shortest of looks. 

There's never a shortage of arm talent in Nashville, and fellow left-handers Ethan McElvain and Alexander Clemmey have proven to be as electric as any in the country, as both have already bumped 95 mph. McElvain put a stamp on an impressive circuit with a strong showing in Jupiter, where he again missed bats by the handful and shows real command, while Clemmey makes for an extremely uncomfortable at-bat and boasts a slider that shows outstanding metrics and spin rates. Along with the trio of lefties, the Commodores have six additional primary arms who've inked their National Letters of Intent and bring both size and stuff to the mound with right-hander Alex Kranzler and lefty Jakob Schulz both checking in within the top-200. 

Whether you're looking for power bats or power arms, athleticism or standout defenders, this class has a little bit of everything and could be a cornerstone-type class once the MLB Draft shakes out given the talent as a whole. 
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