It feels like Ethan McElvain was always meant to wear Black and Gold. 

Growing up in Thompson Station, Tennessee, alongside his younger brother Evan and older brother Chris — a former Vanderbilt pitcher himself — McElvain was immersed in the VandyBoys culture from an early age. 

“I’ve known Coach [Tim] Corbin since I was probably 10,” McElvain said. “So, it’s been a long journey, before I even started getting recruited, just because of Chris.”

Despite his familial ties, McElvain approached his recruitment with an open mind, considering all his options and ensuring Corbin’s program was the right fit for him — not just the familiar one. 

“Wherever you go, I’ll be happy,” the elder McElvain brother told him during the process. “Just go somewhere that’s go[ing to] benefit you and help you. It doesn’t have to be Vanderbilt, but it can be if you want it to.”

Still, it felt like fate. McElvain ultimately followed his brother’s path — but the road since then has been entirely his own. 

Coming out of Nolensville High School in 2023, McElvain was ranked by Perfect Game as the fifth-best left-handed pitching prospect in the country and the top overall player in Tennessee. Vanderbilt — which had lost its top four recruits to the draft that year — was fortunate that the southpaw wasn’t added to that list.

McElvain made an early impression on West End, posting a 3.25 ERA across 25 innings of work as a first-year. However, his season was cut short by a back injury in late April. 

“We took care of it here as best we could, and then I went and pitched against Tennessee [in the SEC Tournament],” McElvain said. “That was my rehab outing. And then I didn’t get a chance to pitch in the [NCAA] Regional.”

Eager to get back on the mound, the rising sophomore spent his summer pitching for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League. His time in the Cape served not just as a rehab stint but as an opportunity for growth against high-level competition. 

“I think [the Cape] is a very, very good experience,” McElvain said. “Usually, the best players in the country go up there and play and just have fun every day. It’s just play, play, play and you don’t stop.”

In addition to pitching for the Bourne Braves, McElvain represented the USA Collegiate National team — a jersey he’d worn before as a youth.

“Getting to wear USA across your chest is a different experience,” McElvain said. “It’s something that I don’t take lightly at all.”

So, when he returned to campus as a sophomore, McElvain was poised to seize an opening at the Sunday starter slot. Things didn’t go according to plan, though. In 12.2 innings as a starter to begin the season, McElvain allowed 14 earned runs. Soon, he was pulled from the rotation in favor of Connor Fennell.

“[Losing the starting spot] was tough. That was really tough,” McElvain said. “You have to be able to put others’ needs before [yourself] in that situation because you’re not helping the team win games. I knew it was coming if I didn’t step it up, and I didn’t step it up quick enough.”

With his high 90s fastball and big lefty delivery, McElvain has always had the physical tools to succeed. For him, the biggest battles have been mental. 

“[My early-season performance] definitely was a difficult one because I have very strict expectations of what my on-field performances need to look like,” McElvain said. “I was not meeting my expectations or what the team needed.”

With guidance from former Vanderbilt players Jayson Gonzalez and Jordan Sheffield — both of whom joined Corbin’s staff as assistant coaches in 2025 — McElvain began rebuilding, mentally as much as physically.

“[Sheffield] has helped me [with the mental part of the game], a lot just because he pitched in the big leagues,” McElvain said. “And [Gonzalez] played with my older brother, and he’s been terrific.”

While some players would have mentally checked out after losing their starting role, McElvain did just the opposite. 

“You just have to keep your head down and keep moving,” McElvain said. 

And he did exactly that. 

Determined to help the team in any way he could, the lefty began carving himself a new role as a reliever, and as his mindset changed, the results followed. McElvain has quietly become one of the team’s most dependable arms since his move to the bullpen. Over his last seven outings, the Thompson Station native has posted a .214 batting average against, a 14.0 K/9 ratio and just three earned runs allowed across nine innings — all of which came in one windy game against Kentucky.

It took him a little time, but McElvain has begun to master the art of relief pitching. 

“I think I was more worried about minimizing my pitch count, stealing strikes and the situation [as a starter]. It was too much mentally to worry about,” McElvain said. “But [as a reliever], you just go out there and throw as hard as you can for an inning or two and try to get six outs.”

Tuning out all the outside noise isn’t easy, but for McElvain, it’s about simplifying the game by just playing catch with the catcher. 

“I’ve worked on going back to my high school mentality, where I really didn’t care what anybody thought of me,” McElvain said. “I kind of lost track of that [at] the beginning of the year. I worried a little bit too much about [the outside noise], and at some point, I said, ‘I’m going back to the way I used to play.’”

So that’s what he did. A few weekends ago, McElvain got the ball to close out the rubber match against Tennessee — and with it, the chance to reclaim something he’d lost. The swagger. The confidence. The version of himself that once made him one of the most promising arms in the country.

After pitching a clean eighth inning, McElvain ran into some trouble in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs. Even with All-SEC second-teamer Sawyer Hawks warming up in the bullpen, Corbin never made the call. 

“[McElvain]’s our guy,” Corbin said after the game. “[If] we’re going to win it [or] lose it, he’s going to do it.”

And McElvain didn’t flinch. Three high-90s fastballs later, Volunteer catcher Cannon Peebles was walking back to the dugout and the sophomore was pumping his fists, screaming in celebration as his teammates mobbed him on the mound. Leading the charge out to the mound was Fennell — the very pitcher who replaced him in the weekend rotation. 

That win meant more to McElvain than just delivering the Commodores their first series victory over Tennessee since his brother was on the mound in 2021. It was validation. It was redemption. It was a moment of belief — both from his manager and in himself. 

“I mean, it’s good to feel,” McElvain said. “It was good to read [Corbin’s quote] and understand that he wanted [me] to take it away.”

With McElvain back in rhythm and now a key piece of an already loaded bullpen featuring arms like Hawks, the SEC champions have a sky-high ceiling entering the NCAA tournament. Don’t expect anyone in the clubhouse to admit that, though. For now, they’re just focused on today. 

“Everything for us is just to win one pitch at a time, one inning at a time and one game at a time,” McElvain said. “And then after that game, we can worry about the next game.”

Even if they won’t say it, the Commodores know just how well they’ve been playing. Their SEC tournament run was so dominant that McElvain, Alex Kranzler, England Bryan and Brennan Seiber never even took the mound — either because of the depth of their bullpen or the offense had put the game out of reach. 

He may not have pitched in Hoover, but with the NCAA tournament — and a potential run to Omaha — on deck, McElvain will be ready to write the next chapter of his journey when his number is called. 

This story was originally published on The Vanderbilt Hustler on May 27, 2025.