Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin seems to feel the need for evolution in his program. That evolution has come with what seems to be a more aggressive approach in the transfer portal.

Here's a running tracker of Vanderbilt's incoming class with a breakdown on each player.

Cody Bowker

Bowker was Vanderbilt's first transfer addition and is one that projects to make an impact, perhaps as a weekend starter.

The Georgetown transfer had a 3.00 ERA, a 5-1 record and 59 strikeouts as opposed to 20 walks in that role in 2024.

Bowker throws a fastball that sits in the low-to-mid 90s as well as a slower slider and a changeup. The rising junior doesn't have overpowering stuff but does generate some swing and miss and isn't shy about attacking the zone.

As a freshman Bowker was a two-way player but he was solely a pitcher in his sophomore season before entering the portal.

It feels as if the transfer pitcher will compete for a weekend role.

Tommy O'Rourke

O'Rourke hasn't pitched in two seasons but was effective in his two seasons at Stanford, the second of which he made 30 appearances.

28 of those appearances came out of the bullpen while two of them were starts.

In those appearances, O'Rourke posted a 4.41 ERA while striking out 35 and walking 16.

If O'Rourke can stay healthy, he'll add some experience to an otherwise young bullpen with an offspeed-heavy approach.

Joseph Dzierwa

Vanderbilt's transfer from Michigan State comes with an impressive rèsumè.

Dzierwa was second team all Big 10 as a sophomore in 2024, posted a 4.07 ERA, 92 strikeouts to 27 walks and was third in the Big 10 with a 1.19 WHIP.

The 6-foot-7 lefty projects to be a weekend starter for Vanderbilt and has experience with large workloads as he's thrown over 70 innings in both of his seasons in East Lansing.

Dzierwa uses a three-pitch mix and a throwing motion in which he comes across with a fastball that sits in the upper 80s to mid 90s, a slider in the upper 70s to mid 80s and a changeup that has similar velocity to the slider but isn't thrown as often.

It feels as if Dzierwa is a significant get as Vanderbilt experiences some turnover in its pitching staff.

David Mendez

Mendez comes with Vanderbilt assistant Jayson King after a freshman season at Dayton in which he posted a .342 average and a .947 OPS while hitting nine doubles as well as six homers.

The rising sophomore also stole 24 bases in his freshman season.

Mendez likely won't solve Vanderbilt's power issues but is certainly a player worth taking, particularly because of his positional versatility and season in which he won Atlantic 10 rookie of the year.

It's hard to know where exactly Mendez fits with Vanderbilt's roster still in flux, but he'll certainly have a role of some sort if his bat and speed translates.

Koby Kropf

A program that desperately needed power got it with Kropf.

The USC Upstate transfer hit .352 with 20 homers and 57 RBI in 2024. Those 20 homers set a program record for homers in a season.

It feels as if adding Kropf is an indicator that Vanderbilt is making being in play for big time bats a priority.

2024 was far and away Kropf’s best season as a college player, before that he’d been at the JUCO level where he hit just 10 homers in two seasons before transferring to USC Upstate as a reserve before his breakout season.

Kropf strikes out a good bit and doesn’t walk much but finds the barrel often. More often than most of Vanderbilt’s roster in 2024.

The hope for Vanderbilt is that Kropf can be the power threat that it needs and a veteran presence on a team that should have some turnover.

Kropf is listed as a catcher/outfielder and will certainly have a role somewhere for Vanderbilt. The bat seems to be too good not to.