Wyatt Nadeau is learning on the fly how tough baseball is in the Southeastern Conference. In the span of eight days, the Gorham native had a dominant start against the defending national champion, then a humbling start on the road at another conference powerhouse.

It’s all part of learning how to pitch against the best competition. It’s all part of the mental bet Nadeau made on himself last year.

“He’s very consistent with his attitude. You’re not getting a kid where you’re wondering what he’s going to do today,” said Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin. “He’s mature when he gets down to the pitching lab. (Pitching coach Scott Brown) loves how he attacks that area.”

The 6-foot-6, 242-pound Nadeau seemed likely to be selected last summer in the Major League Baseball draft after his senior year at Gorham High. Big, strong guys who touch the upper 90s with their fastball are catnip to baseball scouts. Nadeau said he heard from plenty of teams during the draft but made it known it would take a very strong offer to pry him from his commitment to Vanderbilt.

“I felt like this would just be a better fit for me over the next couple of years than the minor leagues,” Nadeau said.

An SEC team has won the last six College World Series titles and seven of the last eight, including the Commodores in 2019. The conference has 10 teams in the latest Baseball America Top 25 (at 13-12, Vanderbilt is currently unranked). Nadeau saw Thornton Academy alum Cody Bowker plucked out of Vanderbilt’s rotation as the 100th overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies last summer and knew pitching against the best lineups in college baseball could raise his draft stock down the line.

Just over a month into his first collegiate baseball season, Nadeau has seen more good than bad, but there have been growing pains, too.

In six games, including three starts, Nadeau is 1-1 with a 3.27 earned-run average. His 22 innings are second most on the team. He has struck out 29, walked 13 and allowed 17 hits. Opponents are hitting .215.

His made his first SEC start on March 14 against defending national champion LSU and was strong. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out 10 in an 11-3 win, and made an impression on Corbin.

“I thought he was pretty composed in that environment. The fact that he could get deep into a ballgame like that in his first (SEC) outing was pretty impressive,” Corbin said. “There was only one inning where he ran into a little bit of trouble, but he pitched out of it.”

Nadeau struck out the side in the top of the first inning, and said he didn’t feel like he had his best stuff. Still, he threw his fastball, slider and changeup for strikes, and flipped a few curveballs in there.

“I was super excited to get that opportunity. I felt great, and I was really excited to be out there,” Nadeau said.

Nadeau’s next start, at Mississippi State on Saturday, was proof of how good SEC hitters are and how much work Nadeau still has to do. Against the No. 8 team in the latest Baseball America poll, Nadeau gave up five runs, seven hits and five walks in four innings. He struck out four.

If Nadeau treats the Mississippi State start as a learning moment and not a setback, he’ll be better in the long run. His fastball sits 95-97 mph, but he can dial up to 100 on occasion. He keeps fastballs and breaking pitches low in the strike zone, Corbin said, and creates awkward swings.

When the team did its Omaha Challenge last fall, a series of physical and mental challenges many college baseball teams undergo that’s named after the site of College World Series, Nadeau was among the top pitchers, Corbin said.

“He saw, I can not only hang with these guys, but I can beat a lot of them. Because of that, I think it added to his confidence,” Corbin said. “He’s a pretty poised kid. He doesn’t walk around here with his head up in the air.”

By choosing Vanderbilt, Nadeau bet on himself and decided to play the long game. Now he’s striving toward making sure that bet pays off.