2021 Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Omaha, Nebraska, USA Coach Tim Corbin Postgame Press Conference

I don't like to categorize the kids because I don't want to Mississippi State - 9, Vanderbilt - 0 slight anyone, but, my gosh, this kid -- he's meant so much to our program. He's meant a lot to college baseball. He's COACH CORBIN: Well, I think it's a time right now to meant a lot to the SEC. thank the NCAA and the people of Omaha for hosting the tournament. None of us took this for granted. None of us He's the best reflection of his parents. That's high praise. knew that we could potentially get people in here to watch He's just done everything right. I love that young man. these kids. Q. This was always going to be a tough season. You It was such a celebration of baseball here in June, broke in a new lineup. You didn't have last year. You something we really needed. It's something that the city had stops and starts. I'm sure they were trying. You needed. And I commend the NCAA and Omaha for being had COVID things. Is this a team that just maybe got able to pull this off in the manner that they did and keeping tired at the end? A longer season than they're used to everyone healthy and safe. playing and all the things coming in, with inexperience? I don't want to make excuses for you, The other thing is congratulations to Chris, Jake, Cheese, but that had to be tough on a team not being used to Scotty, , their athletic director, Mississippi this grind that they faced having never done it before? State, their players, their fan base, for winning this thing. They're very good. And very deserving. That's a very COACH CORBIN: I would say you're right. Yeah, you tough team in so many different ways. don't ever want to be say something that would take away from Mississippi State, because they were the better team. We knew that when they came to Nashville. But you could see who they were once the tournament started to finish. But that being said, I think that we lost a lot of emotional Great comeback for them in so many ways. energy and physical and mental energy toward the end. You could feel it. Our bats didn't have the same speed in I think they realized that they were never out of this thing them, same strength. even after we beat them in the first game. They pitched so well. Bednar was outstanding. Sims is next level reliever. We played hard. We were gritty, but that's probably what Their players are tough. They're really tough. They do got us to this point, to be honest with you. And there's such a nice job playing offense and playing defense. nothing wrong with that. You don't have to be perfect in this thing to win it. We did that in 2014. It's a very good team. And we send our congratulations over to them and everyone from Mississippi State. But you have to have the timely hits. You have to have big hits. You have to have pitching, when it counts. And you Q. What are you going to remember the most from have to make plays. And we just didn't do that. I mean, coaching Kumar? that's no slight on the kids. We just didn't play our best baseball towards the end. COACH CORBIN: I can't say right now. He's just a one-in-a-million kid. His fibers are so real and so pure. He They're trying. But I would say this was a real difficult -- just loves team. He he's connected to competition. He's getting through the Regional was emotional. Getting connected to his teammates in such a way that just the through the Super Regional was emotional. And then as ultimate college pitcher, ultimate college teammate. we got through this, we had to navigate certain situations. Ultimate college baseball player. He'll go down as one of And I think it caught up with us. the very best we've had at Vanderbilt.

109525-1-1222 2021-07-01 03:34:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 And then the groundswell of momentum over on the other the way. And it starts all the way back to August. It was side, you could feel it. And that's real. It is real especially navigating the year, as someone mentioned. It's socially at this level. But it caught up with us. keeping it together.

Q. You talked about the season, about the lack of It's so many other conversations that take place away from experience that they have, but how do you think that the field. And then creating harmony inside the locker such a young team, making it this far, could, you room. And it's just simple things that matter to get your know, be a vital experience going forward into the team there. future? And kids have to step away. I mean, for lack of a better COACH CORBIN: Yeah, it certainly helps everyone. I way, they have to share their toys. They really do. If you mean, to come here, number one, it helps you. It helps want to be good at something, you have to share what you your confidence. To come here and get in a game helps do with other people. And you have to completely remove you. the individual or the individual needs, understanding that the individual needs will be taken care of if you throw And certainly playing as long as we did. We played a lot of yourself into the group effort. baseball games out here. We played a lot of tough baseball games out here. Didn't always play well, but we And then it's something as small as taking out the trash, played tough baseball. And that certainly is going to help not looking for credit for it, and just doing it because you the kids moving forward. know it needs to be done. That's a small example. But that's really the interworkings of a team. I think the thing that you identify with once you get out at this level is, if you're a younger kid, the execution of really And when you can do those things, and do those things on good pitching, the execution of really good hitting. a daily level, then you've got a chance to tap into your skill sets on the baseball field. But the reality is you can't tap And you can take Mississippi State's numbers and you can into your skill sets on the baseball field if those things aren't look at their batting average, but that tells nothing. And brought together. sometimes numbers don't tell the story, and they certainly don't with that team, because that team challenges you on Q. Specifically with Will and Riley, what do you think every single pitch. you have in those two pitchers moving forward, and what do you think this experience will do for them? And really with some of them -- and my mind moves to Hancock right away -- it's almost like the at-bat starts when COACH CORBIN: Will, I'm sorry -- he gets to two strikes and he's tough to put away. His plus-minus numbers are incredible, 44 walks and 16 Q. Little and Riley. strikeouts, that's insane. And Rowdey and Tanner and Tanner behind the plate. I mean, it's a lot of tough outs. I COACH CORBIN: I think there's a number of them. don't want to leave anyone out. Kellum is going to be a Christian and Riles are young kids. They got it on the good player, he's a freshman. They're just really tough, mound. I think they probably learned a lot, learned a lot really tough. about pitching. Pitching. And calming yourself in order to do so. Execution. Q. Every year is a different team with different players and sometimes you have the same players coming They're certainly going to learn a lot about endurance, too, back. But what did you learn from this team this because it has a lot to do with being able to execute. But season that's different? there's so much that goes into it. There's physical and mental training. COACH CORBIN: Well, I think the fact that it was a team. I mean, I think when you start putting teams together, you And it's a unique young man that can come into this look at teams that get to this point, and you start -- you situation as a first-year guy and have any type of success. start analyzing pitching and fielding and hitting. What Kumar did his freshman year, you don't do that. People don't do that. But the reality is, it's a lot of small things done well along the way. And it starts all the way back to August. He's the .5 percent. That doesn't happen. So those kids have a lot of learning to do. But we've got a bunch of kids But the reality is, it's a lot of small things done well along on that team that do. And we'll be better with time.

109525-1-1222 2021-07-01 03:34:00 GMT Page 2 of 3 Q. As you mentioned earlier, you had a 2014 team that Outcomes are outcomes. They happen. We didn't play was basically perfect to the postseason. You had our best down the stretch here. I get it. But that doesn't some other incredible teams that didn't make it this far. take away anything from what the group was all about. I'm not asking you to compare this team to any of those, but how will you remember this team and the Q. I know Carter had a dislocated shoulder, what, six journey they took you on over the last several weeks ago now. That was awfully tough to play months? through that. It would have probably knocked a lot of guys out for the rest of the year. Talk about the effort COACH CORBIN: Yeah, it was incredible. It really was. I he made to come back, how it affected him. And was mean, it was so peaceful. They just created such a nice he playing anywhere near 100 percent? And is that harmony. I think -- when I think of them, I think of Jayson something that he will get treatment on after the year? Gonzalez. I think of Cooper Davis. I think of Hugh Fisher. Can you comment on that? Those are three seniors that didn't play all the time, but they created such great communication within the walls. COACH CORBIN: He'll get treatment after the year. I'm No trouble. They sent the staff home every night not glad you brought that up, because that kid is tough as worrying about them. nails. He doesn't say boo. He was hurting. On a 1 to 10 scale he was probably a 5 or 6. You know, he's not You know how valuable that is? You don't have to worry himself. But he also understands that that's part of playing about what's going to happen if they do something socially. sports. You're not going to be -- especially this time of I just feel they gave themselves such a great chance year, you might be 60 percent of yourself -- but it still because they just created great consistency in every area. doesn't mean that you can't compete at a high-level.

And you get to this point, I'm sure there's a lot of teams out He always competes, that kid. He's a hell of a kid. Raised there saying, well, we were better than Vanderbilt. They well. His parents are super people. They're so supportive. may have been. But there's some fortune, and it's doing But, yeah, he's dinged up. Bradfield is dinged up. Carter things right, as I said. And if you can do that, you might put is dinged up. But it's part of playing a college season. You yourself in a position -- you've got to have some horses get near 70 games and you put everything into this for 11 too. I am not naive. I know those two guys, Murph and months. Kolwyck wasn't himself at the end, from a hand McElvain and Maldonado, and our bullpen was very good. standpoint. He was doing the best he could. But that's I think in a lot of ways they really helped us. But, no, this part of it. I'm sure over on the other side, the same way. was an incredible group. They made it so much fun. I'm And those certainly are not excuses. It's just the grind of a going to be really sorry to break it up. It's unfortunate. season. It kind of wears on you.

Q. You talked about journey of this team. Is what you I want to thank all the people back in Nashville, too, the will remember about this team grinding it out and Nashville media, everyone. I don't want to leave anyone making it within one win of taking it all, or is the out. I appreciate you guys following us and taking care of heartbreak of being so close too much to get passed? our kids. It's very meaningful to me. It's very meaningful to the university. So thank you. And congratulations to COACH CORBIN: No, I'll get through that. I just don't Mississippi State again. Thank you. think you can measure teams based on a gold trophy that's a half an inch bigger than the other one. And even if you FastScripts by ASAP Sports don't get that trophy, this is so tough -- winning a national championship is insane; you can't do it. It's just so difficult to do.

So the fact that we've been around this place and gotten that opportunity, great. But, no, I'm sitting here and I'm at peace with this group. I know it's disappointing for all of them, it is. Disappointing for the staff. Disappointing for me. But I'm at peace with what happened. I am. I would have loved to have won. But I think 10, 15 years ago I may have felt completely different. But you know what, when every kid gives everything they've got and it's centered around the group, and no problem with what happens.

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