Coach Mark Byington has reloaded his roster after the Commodores were inches away from their first Sweet 16 since 2007. Tyler Tanner checked out his NBA chances and returned for his junior season. Byington went into the transfer portal to bulk up his scoring options and experience with five veterans to lead the 24th-ranked Commodores. The coach going into his second season also stocked up on high school recruits with seven topped by Gabe Nesmith who
reclassified from 2007 to play for Byington.
The All-SEC guard Tanner set the school record with 184 assists and had a conference-best 86 steals last season. He led Vanderbilt with 19.5 points a game. Ace Glass led Washington State scoring 16.4 points a game, and he also set the school's freshman record with 71 made 3s. Bangot Dak brings much-needed size at 6-foot-11, and he averaged 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds at Colorado last season. He shot 49.2% from the floor and had a career-high 50 blocks last season. He'll have help from 6-10 Berke Büyüktuncel who averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in three NCAA Tournament games, including the second-round win over Vanderbilt.
Tyler Nickel left to test his chances in the NBA. Duke Miles is out of eligibility after scoring 16.1 points a game. Jalen Washington is working the courts for a fifth season to play at Tennessee. ... Chandler Bing is back for his sophomore year and scored a career-high twice in wins over Kentucky and Texas A&M. The 6-11 Jayden Leverett is back after playing 26 games as a freshman. Nesmith is Byington's highest-rated recruit at Vanderbilt; his cousin Aaron played at Vanderbilt before going to the NBA.
The Commodores open the season Nov. 2 hosting Bellarmine followed by Wake Forest on Nov. 5. Vandy visits Ohio State on Nov. 24 and then Notre Dame on Dec. 2 as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Commodores go to California on Dec. 6. They start the SEC slate Jan. 2 visiting Tennessee, go to Florida on Jan. 9 and Kentucky on Jan. 16. They host Kentucky in late February and wrap up the regular season hosting Tennessee on March 6.
Vanderbilt's wins were one off the program record set in 1992-93 when the Commodores won the SEC regular season title. The Commodores notched their first NCAA Tournament win since 2012 in the first round after matching their highest seed at No. 5. Byington has won at least 20 games in each of his first two seasons, which is only the ninth time in Vanderbilt history to notch consecutive 20-win seasons.
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