Vanderbilt guard Mike James has officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, as first reported by Jamie Shaw of Rivals. The junior averaged 10.6 minutes with 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game this season. He primarily came off the bench for head coach Mark Byington, earning most of his minutes when star guard Duke Miles was out with an injury for a month in the middle of SEC play.

The Florida native will now look to take his talents elsewhere after struggling to find success with the Commodores. He previously played two seasons at Louisville, where he averaged over 10 points per game, but he couldn’t find a significant and consistent role with Vanderbilt in the 2025-26 season. With the star backcourt of Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles, it was always going to be a struggle for James to be a primary ball-handler and scorer.

The departure of James marks the fifth Commodore to now hit the portal. Jaylon Dean-Vines, Frankie Collins, George Kimble III and Tyler Harris all entered the portal in recent weeks, giving up valuable spaces for Byington to build his 2026-27 roster. Jalen Washington, Devin McGlockton, Tyler Nickel and Miles are all out of eligibility, too, and fans still await Tanner’s NBA Draft decision.

Vanderbilt’s roster for next season will be slowly shaped in the next few weeks, as Byington will look to bring in a plethora of talent through the transfer portal.