Backroads and Ballfields: Vanderbilt Lands 2028 Florida Infielder Aiden Kearney
By Daniel Wilson ·
In March 2023, at a 14U state event in Florida, Prep Baseball's TrackMan logged a 13-year-old named Aiden Kearney at a max exit velocity of 82.9 mph. By the Future Games in Georgia this July, the same hitter's max was 102.2, with an average of 94.8 across his batted balls. About 19 miles an hour of max exit velocity in a little over three years is a long way, and the hitter who covered it is now headed to Nashville.
Kearney, a 2028 infielder from Winter Park, Fla., who plays for Hagerty High School, announced his commitment to Vanderbilt on Oct. 12. Aria Gerson of The Tennessean reported that he also visited Florida State before picking the Commodores. His announcement on X read: "Thank you God for blessing me with this opportunity. I am extremely blessed to announce my commitment to Vanderbilt University to continue my academic and athletic career. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way through this process. Anchor Down!"
He is a top-10 player in the 2028 class by most accounts and the top one out of Florida. That is a reputation. The numbers are worth reading on their own.
The Bat, Year by Year
Prep Baseball's event data gives a tidy progression. The 82.9 max came in March 2023. That July, at the Junior Future Games, he reached 99.1, though his average sat at 83.8. Then there are no public TrackMan readings for almost three years. At PBR's Orlando Summer ID on July 7 this year, he posted a 98.6 max and an 89.6 average, with a ball that carried 384 feet. Two weeks later at the Future Games, the max was 102.2 and the average was 94.8.
The average is the part I'd circle. A 99 max at 14 is a single swing that found the barrel. A jump in the average from 83.8 to 94.8 means the hard contact stopped being an accident. His bat speed tells the same story in smaller numbers: a max of 70.6 mph in 2023 and 77.7 at the Orlando event, with averages in the low 70s both weeks this summer.
PBR's July write-up describes a simple setup with low hands and a controlled toe tap, quick hands and a swing that works on plane and creates backspin. That fits the batted-ball numbers. A swing built for backspin is how a 94.8 average turns into balls that travel 384 feet.
The high school line has more doubles than homers. World Baseball Network's Alfred Ezman reported that Kearney has hit .312 over 66 games in two seasons at Hagerty, with 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 44 RBIs. Hagerty went 22-9 last spring. Three homers in 66 games doesn't match a 102 max, but high school spring stats for a freshman and sophomore often lag behind the summer data. I'd want the junior spring numbers before reading anything into it.
Where He Plays
Every report I could find lists him as a shortstop now and projects him to third base later. The Tennessean wrote that he projects as a third baseman with strong power potential. PBR lists him as SS/3B and describes smooth actions and clean transfers.
The size is what pushes him across the bag. He's listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds at 17. The arm doesn't look like a problem at either spot: PBR had him at 90 mph across the infield in July. The run times are a little short of what you'd want from a shortstop who stays there, a 6.99 60-yard dash at Orlando and 7.03 at the Future Games, with a 1.60 10-yard split. He has also come a long way there, from a 7.52 60 at the 2023 Junior Future Games.
For a hitter with his bat, third base isn't a demotion. The question is whether he keeps enough range as the frame fills in, and none of the public data answers that yet.
He also pitched as a 14-year-old, touching 83 mph at a 14U national event in June 2023. I found no pitching data after that year, so the bat looks like the plan.
Vanderbilt's 2028 Class
Gerson reported that Kearney is the fourth 2028 commitment for Vanderbilt. The other three are Jack Rhodes, a catcher from Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville; Canyon Koonce; and Liam Laffin. Rhodes is the hometown piece, and Ezman described him as another top-100 player in the class.
Gerson also noted that Vanderbilt hired Travis Jewett this offseason in a GM-style job overseeing recruiting and the transfer portal. Jewett was previously Vanderbilt's hitting coach and later worked at USC. Nobody has said what role he had in this commitment, and I won't guess. The hire and the commit happened in the same year, and that's all I know.
The program's recent classes have ranked near the top nationally, and Kearney adds to that. Tim Corbin's staff has been doing this for a long time.
What Comes Next
Kearney is a 2028 graduate. That makes 2028 his draft year, before he could take a swing at Hawkins Field. A hitter with a 102.2 max exit velocity at 17 and his standing in the class is going to face the usual question from pro clubs that spring. Vanderbilt's track record with commitments suggests the answer won't be simple.
He doesn't have an 80Grade draft rank yet. Our board is still built around 2027.
What would move the evaluation? A junior spring with more power on the stat line would close the gap between the summer data and the high school numbers. A 60 time under 6.9 would keep shortstop open a while longer. A max exit velocity creeping toward 105 by next summer would tell me the 2026 jump wasn't the ceiling. The bat is the reason everybody wants him. The glove decides where he plays while he uses it.