How can one single result be so disappointing but so celebratory at the same time? I’d argue that in those mixed emotions lies the true beauty of college basketball.
Vanderbilt may have lost its Round of 64 game against Saint Mary’s in heartbreaking fashion, but it won the 2024-25 season. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
The media picked Vanderbilt to finish dead last in the SEC in 2024-25. According to them, a berth in the NIT would’ve been a good season. The Commodores lost their eight leading scorers to either the portal or graduation after former head coach Jerry Stackhouse was fired because of a 9-23 season.
The odds were completely stacked against Mark Byington back in March — he had just four scholarship players on his roster and needed to bring a team together quickly to compete in one of the nation’s top basketball conferences.
Vanderbilt was not a particularly attractive destination for the country’s top transfers: It’s hard for players to commit to a team as a senior or graduate when they know that a culture change and a rebuild are needed. Byington had to go out and find his guys with little time and little prestige.
One year later, in March 2025, I don’t think Byington could have done a better job. It wasn’t all Byington, of course, and credit should go to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee, Anchor Impact and Vanderbilt Athletics’ administration for giving him the tools he needed to succeed in the modern game. Still, Byington is the head of this program and deserves the bulk of the praise for its success.
If I had told you back in October before the season started that Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball would’ve earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, you would’ve been thrilled. Byington took a program that was down, destitute and desperate for talent and turned it into a true postseason contender — all in less than a year.
He brought the magic back.
Chris Manon diving for loose balls. Tyler Nickel hitting clutch 3-pointers. Jason Edwards connecting on circus shots. Jaylen Carey posterizing defenders and slamming his head against the hoop. The list goes on.
In one year, Byington and his Commodores managed to recapture fans’ hearts and reignite the fire that fuels Memorial Magic. And while a 59-56 loss to Saint Mary’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament isn’t the result anyone wanted, Commodore Nation should be proud of what this team has accomplished, especially relative to expectations.
A sad final dance
The game was always going to be a challenge for Vanderbilt. Saint Mary’s plays effectively the exact opposite style of basketball and exposes most of the flaws within the Commodores’ roster.
For what it’s worth, Vanderbilt played well for the size disadvantage it was at in the first half. But, as we’ve seen time and time again in 2025, the physicality and size of the Gaels were simply too much for the Black and Gold to handle. Fatigue set in in the second half and players like Mitchell Saxen (11 rebounds, 4 offensive rebounds), Luke Barrett (10 rebounds) and Augustus Marciulionis (8 rebounds) had no problem controlling the glass.
“I think those body blows got us. At certain points, I think we wore down on it,” Byington said. “When those guys are that size, they’re not losing weight or getting any shorter during the game.”
9 of the Gaels’ 10 offensive rebounds came in the second half as Devin McGlockton got into foul trouble and had to play a less physical style of basketball. Carey played well in the first half but scored 0 points in the second half as nobody on Vanderbilt could get it going offensively outside of a few Nickel triples late in the game.
Edwards was masterful in the first 20 minutes — to the tune of 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting — and it seemed like no one on the Gaels could stop him. The problem lay in the fact that Edwards was the only Vanderbilt player with more than 4 points in that opening frame, and head coach Randy Bennett realized that and had his team clamp up on defense.
Edwards was held to just 5 points on 2-for-8 shooting in the second half, and nobody on Vanderbilt stepped up as the team went an abysmal 9-of-26 from the field.
That’s not even to mention Byington’s questionable use of timeouts early in the second half. He used his final timeout at the 2:43 mark. Vanderbilt didn’t have ample time to regroup and it showed.
So, what happens when you allow nine second-half offensive rebounds, force just three turnovers and run out of timeouts with over 150 seconds left to play in a close game? You lose.
Saying goodbye
The 2025-26 season starts now for Vanderbilt — even Byington knows that.
“The next three or four weeks is really the hardest part of the year for any college coach,” Byington said last night. “I’m probably going to take the rest of the night off, and then tomorrow it really gets into building the roster for next year because, unfortunately, you can’t really take much more time than that.”
His job this year won’t be nearly as difficult as it was this time last year, but Byington still has a lot of work to do. He’s losing some serious contributors to graduation — Manon, Grant Huffman and AJ Hoggard are all officially out of eligibility.
Manon will be especially difficult for fans to say goodbye to. The graduate transfer from Cornell has endeared himself to each and every member of Commodore Nation through a style of play that Vanderbilt desperately needed all year. His fearlessness in jumping passing lanes, putting his body on the line for loose balls and guarding opponents’ best players is commendable, but his growth and resilience are the real story.
Manon struggled to start the year and scored double digits in just one game before 2025 rolled around. When the going got tough and the heart of SEC play came, he upped that number to five. Without his resilience through the tough times, he wouldn’t have turned into the defensive anchor that Vanderbilt needed. And without his presence on the court, Vanderbilt wouldn’t have sniffed a NCAA Tournament berth. If wins above replacement, a commonly-used stat in the baseball world, were a thing in basketball, I have no doubt that Manon would lead the team in it.
Hoggard may have been disappointing during his time donning the Black and Gold, but he was still the team‘s starting point guard and ran the show the entire year. Regardless of the stats and the expectations held for him, the former Michigan State Spartan will be missed. Huffman, the only other true point guard on the team, is also gone. That means Byington has to go back out and find a floor general to bring this team back to the Promised Land (and maybe win a few games while it’s there).
The future on West End
It’s not all bad for the ‘Dores, though. Edwards, Nickel, McGlockton, Carey, MJ Collins Jr. and Tyler Tanner will all be back next year. That’s not a complete basketball team by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a competent core to start with. All six showed tremendous growth throughout the year, and I’d bet that with a full offseason to build an already-established foundation, they’ll be even better next season. That’s not even to mention that Kijani Wright, who was projected to be the team’s starting center this season, should be back in November after dealing with a non-basketball injury all year.
Add in a pair of talented newcomers in Jayden Leverett and Jaylon Dean-Vines and find a true center, a facilitator and a few depth guys in the portal; all of a sudden, you aren’t fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament — you’re expecting one.
It may have been hard for Byington to get after some elite players during the 2024 offseason, but something tells me this year will be different. Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball is here to stay; this tournament berth and the brand-new Huber Center should make Byington’s portal pitch a lot stronger than it was last year.
Oh, and Mark H. Carter’s $1.5 million donation to Anchor Impact should give Byington the financial flexibility to splurge on a few superstars if he so chooses. Vanderbilt now has more money to spend, more prestige and better facilities; who wouldn’t want to come here?
The portal officially opens on March 24, so until then, Vanderbilt will just have to look into the research on potential transfers that it has undoubtedly been compiling all season. Some players have entered the portal, and more will continue to do so as teams drop out of the NCAA Tournament.
For now, though, let’s all take one final moment to appreciate this 2024-25 Vanderbilt team. From the players like Manon, Edwards, Nickel and Carey who ignited the fire, to the coach who kept it going, this was a magical season that the Black and Gold faithful will remember forever.
