Vanderbilt Baseball Lands First Transfer Portal Commitment – Sports Illustrated

NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt baseball has landed a commitment from Wofford baseball transfer Niko Brini, he announced on Monday night.
Brini is an outfielder who hit .353 with eight home runs, 18 doubles, seven triples and stole 15 bases in 2026. He the team in runs, hits, doubles, triples, and total bases while ranking first in triples in the SoCon, third in hits, fifth in doubles, and fifth in runs. Brini was also named to the All-SoCon defensive team.
"Beyond blessed for the next opportunity," Brini said on Instagram. "Couldn’t be more grateful for my time at Wofford and for all those who have helped to make this a possibility."
Brini is Vanderbilt baseball's first transfer portal commit of the 2026 cycle and will be one of the headliners of a crucial transfer portal class for Tim Corbin and company. Outfield was perhaps the biggest need in Vanderbilt's portal class after the departures of Logan Johnstone and Will Hampton, and Brini appears to be in line to compete for one of the three starting spots.
Vanderbilt baseball looks to recover from a 2026 season in which it missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 19 seasons and the first time since early in Corbin's tenure. It was the longest streak in college baseball and its abrupt end has caused Corbin to conduct an internal audit of the program following the season.
“I don't look at it and go ‘oh, my gosh.’ I just look at it and say ‘I'm going to figure this sh** out, some way, somehow,’” Corbin said. “I love where college baseball is. I love where this conference is. I just look at it as ‘okay, we've got some good players coming back, but we need to better ourselves.’”
Vanderbilt will look to build a strong transfer class to complement its core of Brodie Johnston, Austin Nye, Ryker Waite, Tommy Goodin, Wyatt Nadeau and Rustan Rigdon returning. Brini is the first of which.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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