Lawerence Academy junior righthander Tyler Beede had lots of questions for his suitors before making his college decision last Friday. So just what was the deciding factor in the Auburn native making a verbal commitment to Vanderbilt over scholarship offers from USC, Virginia and North Carolina?

Academics and the campus came into play, for sure – he made unofficial visits to each of the four, who are all known for their high standards. But also consider his relationship with head coach Tim Corbin, a Wolfeboro, N.H. native who was the SEC Coach of the Year in 2007. Beede first met Corbin as an eighth-grader at summer camp on the Nashville campus, and the two have stayed in touch ever since.

“He’s like a second father to me, and that’s what he does with all his kids,” Beede said. “Kids stay at his house if they need to. He’s a cool, fun guy, and you love to have that in a coach. It’s good when you hear someone is very comforting.”

Another interesting connection to note: Beede, whose fastball currently tops out at 93 miles per hour, helped lead Auburn High to a Division 2 state title last spring before transferring to Lawrence over the summer and re-classifying as a junior. During Corbin’s time as associate head coach at Clemson, he oversaw the development of Mike Paradis, a righty who was the 13th overall pick in the 1999 MLB Draft and led the Rockets to the Division 2 state title game in 1996, where they lost to Reading, 9-0.