Former Cyclone Sears Heading to Vanderbilt for Baseball

Former Cyclone Sears Heading to Vanderbilt for Baseball -

(7-28-25) - A former Cyclone is on the move again and just like his with his speed… it was done quickly.

Iowa Central’s Cade Sears announced Sunday that he’s committing to Vanderbilt to play baseball.

“I mean just this past Thursday, Vanderbilt reached out to me and, at first, their recruiting coordinator called me and then they got me on the phone with the head coach, and they offered that day. So, I mean, I couldn't really pass up the opportunity to go to Vanderbilt. They're a top team in the country.”

Sears learned a lot his freshman season and expects to see an even bigger jump when he place in the SEC this coming spring.

“(I learned) just how to handle adversity. I did really good in some parts of the season and some parts of the season, I really struggled. Probably the most I ever had in baseball. You see a lot higher end pitching there (and) it's going to even get tougher now that I'm going to the SEC. I learned that I have to be patient, trust the process.”

The Harlan native hit .270 with 2 homers and 35 RBI this past season for the Tritons with a .798 OPS while going 31 for 32 in stolen bases. He’s now competing in the Northwoods League for the Lakeshore Chinooks where’s he batting .329 and 13 for 16 in stolen bases. Sears says summer league play has been a grind.

“This is definitely a learning experience for me. I mean, you play every day here like, this is our first off day in I would say two weeks. I mean, it's every single day you're in the lineup. And it's huge to have these at bats. At first, it was more just get these at bats so I could just start getting recruited. But now it's more get through that bats, so I'm ready for our walk into Vanderbilt and looking for some competition.”

Sears gives credit to both of his brothers, Atlanta Braves prospect and former Nebraska pitcher Brett Sears, and Harlan Community assistant baseball Coach Dillon Sears, for helping him show a path to succeed at the next level.

“I want to just say it's Dillon and Brett both, just seeing the grind they've had to go through every day. I mean, of course, Brett made it to a higher level. But I mean I've seen Dillon and Brett both work their butts off every day. It's kind of showed me like what you have to do to get to a higher level of baseball.”

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