Penn State soccer coach James Franklin acquired a premium seat for Sunday’s SEC Baseball Event championship sport conflict between Vanderbilt and Ole Miss in Hoover, Alabama. Franklin, who simply wrapped up his twelfth spring observe with the Nittany Lions, is hanging out within the Commodores’ dugout as they tackle the Rebels.
Franklin, who coached at Vanderbilt from 2011-13, stays shut pals with Commodores skipper Tim Corbin, courting again to their time collectively in Nashville.
“I used to be in Destin (Florida) with my household, we checked the schedule, noticed that they have been enjoying immediately, so we acquired up early this morning and drove down,” Franklin mentioned in a mid-game interview with the ESPN broadcast. “Me and Tim have been very shut since my first yr at Vanderbilt.”
Franklin was seen celebrating after Vanderbilt third baseman Brodie Johnston hit a two-run residence run within the backside of the primary inning to provide the Commodores a 2-0 lead.
Present Vanderbilt soccer coach Clark Lea can also be in attendance at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, although he is occupying a seat behind Vanderbilt’s dugout.
This is Lea’s response within the stands to a fifth-inning homer from Jacob Humphrey, who went on to obtain a congratulatory excessive 5 from Franklin on the finish of the dugout.
In three seasons at Vanderbilt, Franklin amassed a 24-15 document with three bowl appearances (and two wins) previous to his hiring at Penn State forward of the 2014 season. Earlier than Franklin’s arrival, Vanderbilt had 4 bowl appearances in program historical past.
Franklin has remained a gentle Vanderbilt baseball supporter since he departed the college. He joined the Commodores on the 2014 School World Sequence when Corbin, who was employed at Vanderbilt in 2003, received his first nationwide title. Franklin additionally left the 2023 NFL Draft, hosted in Nashville, Tennessee, to absorb a Friday evening common season conflict between Kentucky and Vanderbilt at Hawkins Area.