Kara Keegan walked her dog at 5:30 a.m. Saturday in Methuen, Massachusetts, and suddenly noticed a barrage of text messages flooding her phone.
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Vanderbilt and his son, first baseman Dominic Keegan, qualified for the College World Series championship without playing the deciding bracket final match against North Carolina State. Get all the news you need in your inbox every morning.
Even stranger, the news arrived in an NCAA statement at 1:10 a.m.
“Is it real? Because everyone was kind of puzzled by the lack of detail,” Keegan said, just before flying to Omaha, Nebraska, for the best-of-three championship series, starting. Monday, against the winner of Mississippi State-Texas.
© Calvin Mattheis/USA Today Network
Carter Young (9) of Vanderbilt, Parker Noland (25) of Vanderbilt and Javier Vaz (2) of Vanderbilt celebrate after defeating NC State 3-2 in Game 11 of the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. on Friday June 25, 2021.
“We just knew it had to be something serious involving COVID for (NC State) not even playing.”
Phil Young, father of shortstop Vanderbilt Carter Young, had seen it flash live on the ticker at the bottom of the TV screen. But since the bundle of cables in his Omaha hotel room only included ESPN Deportes, the news was unclear.
“The words on the screen were in English, but the advertisers spoke them in Spanish,” he said. “That only added to the confusion. And we thought, ‘We should probably confirm that elsewhere. “
The NCAA declared a no-contest for Saturday’s bracket final, and NC State has been sent home due to COVID-19 protocols.
NC State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan said, “The health and safety of our student-athletes and staff will always be our unwavering priority. The timing is simply devastating for everyone involved.”
COVID-19 allowed Vanderbilt to play for the national title, but it could also impact the availability of players in the Championship Series.
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Should Vanderbilt be Worried About COVID-19?
These positive tests and contact tracing reduced the NC State roster to a point where she could no longer continue playing.
Video: Vanderbilt’s baseball press conference after NC State game on June 25, 2021 at CWS (The Tennessean (Nashville))
Vanderbilt Baseball Press Conference After NC State Game June 25, 2021 at CWS
FOLLOWING
NC State coach Elliott Avent declined to say if his players were vaccinated.
“My job is to teach them baseball, make sure they get an education and keep them on track,” Avent said. “But I’m not trying to indoctrinate my kids with my values or my opinions. Obviously, we talk about a lot of things, but these are young men who can make their own decisions. And that’s what they have. made.”
NC State had 13 players available for Friday’s game due to COVID-19, and all of them except pitcher Cooper King played in the game. This means that players infected with COVID-19 were in contact with players from Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin even gave Avent a hug before the game.
© Bruce Thorson, Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
June 25, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, United States; NC State Head Coach Wolfpack Elliott and Vanderbilt Commodores Head Coach Tim Corbin greet each other ahead of the game at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
The circumstances of NC State’s exit could complicate COVID-19 protocols for the Commodores in the Championship Series.
Are Vanderbilt players vaccinated?
Vanderbilt declined to say how many of his players and coaches are vaccinated or to comment on his approach to COVID-19 protocols, relying on college and NCAA guidelines.
And Corbin won’t be available until a press conference Sunday before the championship series.
Keegan, a medical social worker, said colleagues and patients at her work have died from COVID-19. She said it was up to her son to say if he was vaccinated, but added “as a family we are very pro-vaccination, and Dominic has a very good head on his shoulders.”
“I don’t know who was vaccinated (in the Vanderbilt team),” she said. “But I can tell you that (the coaches) made every opportunity available so that if these kids wanted to be vaccinated, they could be.”
Vanderbilt requires all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated for the 2021-22 academic year, which begins August 25. This would include baseball coaches, staff and returning players for the fall semester. Medical and religious exemptions may be requested.
“Corbin is leading the guys, but he’s not making decisions for them,” Young said. “(The players) made a commitment as a team to be very careful, unlike other teams that would be out in town when they were on the road.
“Our guys hang out in the hotel room as much as possible for the good of the team.”
Amid COVID-19 protocols, Vanderbilt seeks third national title
But even if Vanderbilt players are already vaccinated, they could still be at risk of infection and therefore unavailable to play.
The NCAA’s COVID-19 championship policy requires unvaccinated players and coaches to undergo routine testing. But fully vaccinated players and coaches without symptoms of COVID-19 may be exempt from routine testing.
NC State’s additional four positive tests come from squad-wide tests of players who played against Vanderbilt after his first two positive tests, D1Baseball.com reported.
Vanderbilt spokesman Alan George declined to comment on whether the players or coaches had been tested for COVID-19 since the NC State game.
NC State is the latest team to leave the NCAA tournament due to COVID-19, joining Virginia Commonwealth Basketball, Michigan Hockey, Notre Dame Hockey and Rice Women’s Volleyball.
“Any Vanderbilt family will tell you we’re heartbroken for these kids (from the state of North Carolina),” Keegan said. “COVID is the variable that has haunted every team this season, so it’s unfortunate. But Vanderbilt has played through multiple COVID-19 protocols and earned his place here.”
The Commodores will make their fourth appearance in the Championship Series. They won the national title in 2014 and 2019 and finished second in 2015.
Vanderbilt, technically, is the reigning national champion as the 2020 season has been canceled due to COVID-19. Pitcher Kumar Rocker, the 2019 College World Series MVP, is the only remaining starter on this national team.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Everything We Know As Vanderbilt Baseball Reaches CWS Finals With Persistent COVID-19
