Former Vanderbilt star, Centennial grad Tony Kemp announces MLB retirement after nine seasons

04-06-2025

Tony Kemp has called an end to his baseball career.
Kemp, a former Vanderbilt star and Centennial graduate, announced his retirement from baseball on social media on May 15.
"After 12 years of professional baseball and nine seasons in the big leagues, I've decided to hang up the spikes," Kemp wrote in a social media statement. "... I want to say thank you to the game of baseball. A sport that humbles you daily, but you come back for more each day because it presents a new set of challenges.
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"A game where you have the utmost confidence knowing it's a game of failure. Thank you for teaching me so many life lessons and giving me the opportunity to provide for my family."
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Kemp played for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, earning a World Series ring in 2017 with Houston.
Kemp was named a finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award four times during his time with the Athletics, which is given to the player "who demonstrates the values Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente displayed in his commitment to community and understanding the value of helping others," per the MLB.
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Ahead of his fifth-round selection by the Astros in the 2013 MLB Draft, Kemp was a standout under Tim Corbin at Vanderbilt. Kemp was named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2011 as Vanderbilt reached the College World Series, where Kemp was named to the all-tournament team. In 2013 he was named SEC Player of the Year, becoming the fourth Vanderbilt baseball player to reach 100 hits in a season along the way.
"To my head coach at Vanderbilt, Tim Corbin, you took a chance on a 5'6" 150-pound baseball player out of Franklin, Tennessee," Kemp wrote. "Thank you for changing my life. You challenged and pushed me to limits that unlocked my true potential especially when it came to mental toughness."
Kemp's roots are in Middle Tennessee, where he starred for Centennial from 2006 to 2010, hitting .544 with 24 stolen bases his senior year and later earning a spot on The Tennessean's All-Decade high school baseball team.
Harrison Campbell covers sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at hcampbell@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tony Kemp, former Vanderbilt and Centennial star, retiring from MLB