Vernell Atamah already has plans for when she's done playing basketball.
The Northwestern State transfer, who is now with Vanderbilt women's basketball, is interested in nursing. So when she went in the transfer portal, she wanted somewhere with challenging academics to go along with a higher level of basketball.
Atamah, nicknamed Vee, has already accomplished a lot in her career. The 2026 Southland Conference Player of the Year, she averaged 19.2 points per game and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 39% from the 3-point line. But she wanted to challenge herself, both academically and athletically, even though she knew it meant leaving a team where she was the clear-cut No. 1 option to a different role.
With the Commodores, Atamah could fill a role similar
to the ones Justine Pissott and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had a year ago, serving as a secondary scoring option while helping with rebounding and passing. She is one of five newcomers on the team, joining fellow transfer Mia Woolfolk and freshmen Olivia Jones, Jhai Johnson and Sther Ubaka.
"It's what I wanted," Atamah told The Tennessean. "It aligns with how I want to grow as a player and how I want to ... see the options and make the right reads. So having people around me that are phenomenal players, it just encourages me to start to see, how can I get them open?"
Atamah is undoubtedly a shooter, but at Vanderbilt she wants to improve her passing and playmaking. Playing alongside two electric guards in SEC Player of the Year Mikayla Blakes and SEC Freshman of the Year Aubrey Galvan, Atamah won't have to carry as much scoring load. She knew about Blakes and Galvan before she visited in the portal, and says it's an honor to play alongside them.
But she also wants fans to see her own personality. She's aggressive and energetic, and it's hard to miss her.
"When I'm playing, when the game's going good, you're going to see it on me," Atamah said. "You just know I'm there, whether it's screaming, whether it's cheering for your teammate, whether it's just talking to opponents, you'll just know I'm there."
As she's learning to adjust to the SEC level of play, Atamah has been having fun with the Commodores. At practice, she says, everyone wants to be there. If someone trips and falls or makes a mistake in practice, they all laugh about it instead of getting mad. That's the part of Vanderbilt's culture that has really stood out.
And then there are the academics. Atamah is already used to balancing a lot, managing difficult course loads by using a planner, the reminders app on her phone and sticky notes. She believes the organizational skills required to pursue nursing will also help her balance everything she needs on the court.
"I like school, I like taking classes," Atamah said. "I like challenging myself in every aspect. ... And then on top of the school, the basketball aspect of it, they've just been growing these past few years. They've been really successful, and I really wanted to be a part of that and help as much as I can."
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Exclusive: How team culture helped Vanderbilt basketball land transfer Vernell Atamah
