Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
Vanderbilt (Projected: 15th in SEC)
After a disappointing five-year tenure under Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt moved on this offseason, hiring Mark Byington. Byington led James Madison to the NCAA Tournament last season and successfully rebuilt the Dukes over a four-year span. Getting Vanderbilt to the NCAA Tournament will be a different task, trying to compete in the SEC at Vandy in the current age of college sports seems to be next to impossible.
Just two players are holding over from Stackhouse, sophomore forward JaQualon Roberts (2 ppg) and junior guard Jordan Williams (2 ppg). Roberts and Williams saw limited minutes last season and it will be interesting to see how different their role will be in 2024-25 with 10 transfers coming in.
Eleven players left the Vanderbilt program, most notably the trio of guard Ezra Manjon (15 ppg, 4 apg), guard Tyrin Lawrence (14 ppg, 5 rpg), and forward Ven-Allen Lubin (12 ppg, 6 rpg). The rest of the guards that left the program were Evan Taylor (8 ppg), Jason Rivera-Torres (6 ppg), Paul Lewis (4 ppg), Isaiah West (3 ppg), and Malik Presley (2 ppg). The frontcourt lost Colin Smith (7 ppg, 7 rpg), Tasos Kamateros (5 ppg), and Carter Lang (2 ppg, 4 rpg).
10 transfers join Mark Byington as arrivals in Nashville, six of which hail from power conference teams. The incoming transfer guards who will likely start are AJ Hoggard (11 ppg, 5 apg at Michigan State) and Jason Edwards (19 ppg at North Texas). Hoggard isn’t much of an outside threat, but is great at creating through a drive, whether it’s dishing out to a teammate or finishing at the rim. Hoggard never shined like many MSU fans thought he would in 2023-24, but is still a very formidable point guard for the SEC. Edwards is a scoring guard, averaging 19 ppg in the AAC for North Texas last season. Edwards shot 35% from three last season and that number could improve this year with a more talented cast surrounding him. Edwards’ lightning quick release will help him get shots off against any defense and I’m not at all worried about how he will translate to the SEC.
Grant Huffman (13 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg at Davidson) and Chris Manon (13 ppg, 4 rpg at Cornell) will likely come off the bench at Vandy, but bring even more experience to the backcourt. The concern with me for this duo is that neither is that great of a shooter, and Hoggard already starts in the backcourt as a non-shooter. Virginia Tech transfer duo MJ Collins (7 ppg) and Tyler Nickel (9 ppg) will add to the Commodores’ depth on the wings, with at least one of the two likely to start. The final listed guard transferring in is Alex Hemenway (5 ppg at Clemson), who will likely see limited minutes in the backcourt.
All three frontcourt transfers coming in will play a role for Vanderbilt this season. Devin McGlockton (10 ppg, 6 rpg at Boston College) will be the star of the frontcourt, a rising junior coming over after a solid year at Boston College. Kijani Wright (4 ppg) is likely to start alongside McGlockton, adding more power conference pedigree to the squad. The final transfer of the class for Mark Byington is one of his own, Jaylen Carey (7 ppg, 4 rpg at James Madison), who follows him over from the Dukes.
Byington landed commitments from two high school recruits in the cycle, guards Tyler Tanner (3*, NAT 244) and Karris Bilal (3*, NAT 259). Tanner and Bilal will likely have plenty of time to learn the system during their freshman season with a plethora of experienced transfers playing above them.
It will be more than tough to compete at Vanderbilt in the SEC, but Mark Byington seems ready to give it a go in 2024-25. The Commodores have plenty of experienced transfers and it will be all about bringing them together in the months leading up to November. I can’t say it’ll be a great year for the Commodores, but as long as they are competitive in a consistent matter the building blocks will be there.
I’m excited to see what AJ Hoggard and Jason Edwards do in a backcourt together at Vandy and it will be something to monitor throughout the season. My X-factor for this team is Tyler Nickel, the only guy in the backcourt outside of Jason Edwards with a consistent three-point shot. The roster seems to have lacked in that aspect, so I think it’s very important that Nickel has a good season for the Commodores.
Just be competitive would be my advice to Mark Byington for year one at Vandy. No one expects you to win right away, and you can’t expect the results to come right away. It’s important to get people excited and invested for Vanderbilt basketball and the results will come soon. I think the mismatch of transfers, the lack of shooting on the perimeter, and the lack of depth in the frontcourt hold the Commodores back and they slide into a 15th place finish in the SEC.