Vanderbilt baseball: Dansby Swanson talks Tim Corbin, Vandy United at Hall of Fame induction

Dansby Swanson is coming off a big year. He won a World Series title with the Atlanta Braves, got engaged and on Friday was inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame for his role on the 2014 team that won the program's first College World Series.

Swanson wasn't expecting the news when athletics director Candice Lee reached out. He thought he was too young for any kind of hall of fame or that there might be a waiting period. 

Now, Swanson becomes the ninth person associated with Vanderbilt baseball in the school's hall of fame, cementing his name among the all-time greats.

"It couldn't be a better year, this 2021 year," Swanson said. "The World Series and now this and obviously doing it in college, the unique thing about when we did it here was just kinda the history behind not having ever won a men's national title and kind of being the first and really breaking through with that legacy, it was really a special, special feeling. Professional baseball is a whole other kind of animal but kind of creating that legacy of Vanderbilt baseball is really cool."

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Swanson credited Lee, with whom he has a close relationship, for trying to close the gap between academics and athletics at Vanderbilt, where there has always been inherent tension.

"Athletics can thrive when the school really backs the vision of the programs especially financially and I think they're really starting to come into their own with that," Swanson said. "Especially understanding that athletics in no way, shape or form takes away from the academics, there's a beautiful marriage between the two and there's so many other schools that do it really well and I think that they're kind of starting to hit their stride with it."

Swanson credited baseball coach Tim Corbin, putting him on the "Mount Rushmore" of baseball coaches, and noted Corbin's rare ability to build winning programs year in and year out while also putting a focus on high character.

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Earlier on Friday, Corbin complimented Swanson's growth as a leader beyond his ability on the field.

"It's been a lot of fun watching him grow as a leader inside that organization because you can see it, we have conversations throughout the year, whether it's text or call and he's very locked into that," Corbin said. "He's on the right things, he's a good player and I felt like that was gonna be the case with him but he's very consistent with his actions and I'm glad he got to enjoy something at the end of the year."

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Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.