Comparing Vanderbilt baseball 2015 to national champs

Most of Vanderbilt's national championship baseball team returned this season, but the 2014 and 2015 squads are quite different. As the Commodores once again enter the postseason in the SEC Tournament, here are 10 points of comparison to show the difference a year makes.

1. Expectations

2014: College World Series run was a surprise. Vanderbilt ranked 19th to finish the regular season and sat at No. 21 on the day it won national title.

2015: Preseason No. 1 and spent six weeks there. Defending national champion has not slipped out of the Top 10 in the Baseball America poll and remains a national title contender.

2. The long ball

2014: 22 home runs for the entire season (21 in the regular season) tied for the fewest in program history. Zander Wiel led with only five homers.

2015: 49 homers in regular season rank third in the SEC. In the first season with a flatter-seam baseball, home runs nationally are up 50 percent, according to the Houston Chronicle. But Vandy's homers are up 123 percent.

3. Pitching ace

2014: Tyler Beede held the No. 1 spot in the starting rotation, but he had a 3-6 SEC record. His best year (14-1) was actually in 2013.

2015: Dominant Carson Fulmer (11-1) won the SEC pitching triple crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts), the fourth time that's happened in SEC history, and could be college baseball's best pitcher.

4. Bullpen

2014: Adam Ravenelle, Brian Miller and Hayden Stone were lights-out relievers. Overall, the bullpen suffered only three losses in the regular season and averaged 3.1 walks per nine innings.

2015: Stone underwent Tommy John surgery. Any of the 2014 trio would be Vanderbilt's best reliever this season. This bullpen has lost nine games and averages 5.1 walks per nine innings.

5. Hot corner

2014: Third baseman Xavier Turner followed up his 2013 Freshman All-American year by hitting .288 with 30 RBIs in the regular season. He was suspended by the NCAA at the College World Series for one year.

2015: Freshman third baseman Will Toffey has the team's highest batting average (.348) in SEC games. He has quietly hit better (.308, 37 RBIs) than Turner a year ago, despite fewer at-bats.

6. Leadoff hitter

2014: Dansby Swanson gave Vanderbilt an All-American in the leadoff spot. He hit .333 with a school-record 27 doubles and earned College World Series MVP honors.

2015: DH Ro Coleman took over the job by midseason as the best available option. He has had some big multi-hit games and raised his on-base percentage to .405.

7. Winning ways

2014: Finished regular season in sixth place (17-13) in the SEC with a 40-16 overall record. Team split its 10 SEC series (5-5).

2015: Won the SEC East Division (20-10) and posted a 39-17 overall record. Team won seven of 10 SEC series.

8. Depth on mound

2014: Beede was the seasoned starter. But Fulmer, Tyler Ferguson and midweek starter Walker Buehler combined for a 21-6 regular-season record. The depth helped in the postseason.

2015: Fulmer is an ace. Buehler (3-2), despite seven no-decisions, has been strong. Talented lefty Philip Pfeifer (3-4) is the X factor in the rotation, but he has been inconsistent.

9. Middle infield

2014: Gold Glove winner Vince Conde was college baseball's best fielding shortstop, and Swanson was a sure-handed All-American at second base. The pair was among baseball's best.

2015: Swanson made a seamless move to shortstop. Tyler Campbell has a better fielding percentage than Swanson a year ago. Vanderbilt has actually turned two more double plays in the regular season than 2014.

10. Postseason experience

2014: Entering the postseason, no player on the roster had ever won a game beyond an NCAA Regional. Vanderbilt went 0-2 in the 2013 Super Regional.

2015: An experienced roster, 22 current players went through 13 postseason games (seven at College World Series) a year ago. Seven current everyday players were in the lineup in the 2014 national championship game.

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

SEC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

NO. 2 VANDERBILT vs. NO. 7 MISSOURI / NO. 10 SOUTH CAROLINA

When: Wednesday (approximately 1 p.m.)

Where: Hoover (Ala.) Metropolitan Stadium

TV: SEC Network

Radio: 560-AM, 95.9-FM