The Vanderbilt Commodores enter the 2020-21 campaign following noticeable improvements last season. The emergence of now-sophomore star Koi Love, combined with the continued development of a number of upperclassmen starters, sets up head coach Stephanie White well as she enters year five on West End.
White added an impressive recruiting class to an already experienced roster that has a chance to surprise many Southeastern Conference (SEC) foes. Although it is currently unclear when the Commodores will tip-off their 2020-21 season, The Hustler Sports Staff provides a detailed breakdown of each and every player on this year’s roster:
Bella LaChance (#0), Guard
Bella LaChance seems to be an exciting, enthusiastic young prospect for the Commodores. The 5-foot-6 freshman from Davie, Florida had a decorated high school career that saw her finish with 1,850 career points as well as countless all-state and all-county accolades. She’s a floor general, according to Stephanie White, and seems to have all the traits a coach would hope for in a point guard. LaChance certainly won’t start in her first season on West End, but as a rotational player learning from experienced guards like Enna Pehadzic, Chelsea Hall and Jordyn Cambridge, the Commodores could very well be developing their point guard of the future.
– Simon Gibbs, Sports Editor
Enna Pehadzic (#1), Guard
Enna Pehadzic, a fifth-year senior who transferred from the University of South Florida, will bring some much needed experience and outside shooting to the Commodores. Last season, the Commodores ranked dead last in the SEC in three point shooting at just 29.3 percent. Pehadzic, a career 31 percent shooter from deep with 101 total three-point makes, will certainly help reverse that trend. In her junior season with the Bulls, she averaged 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. It’s unclear at the moment if Pehadzic will start or come off the bench, but either way, look for her to be one of the top long-range threats for Vanderbilt this season.
– Alyssa Muir, Deputy Sports Editor
Chelsie Hall (#2), Guard
There’s no question that senior Chelsie Hall is the leader of this year’s team. The 5’7” guard started her first three years on campus, and will run the offense this year as well. She started all 30 games last season and led the team with 972 minutes. She averaged 10.6 points per game last season and is just 84 points away from joining the 1,000-point club at Vanderbilt. Hall’s experience will be crucial as the team implements a new offense this season. Hall said in an interview with VUCommodores.com that her role is to direct traffic and get the ball to open teammates in a less scripted offense based on creating open shots. A successful season for Hall would be averaging 12 points and five assists per game while helping the young team adjust to the speed of SEC play.
– Betsy Goodfriend, Deputy Sports Editor
Jordyn Cambridge (#3), Guard
Jordyn Cambridge enters her junior season as one of coach Stephanie White’s most important players. The established starter and accomplished defensive force earned All-SEC Defensive Team honors last year and broke numerous Commodore records thanks to her stingy defense. She led the SEC and ranked 18th nationally with 85 steals her sophomore year while becoming the first Vanderbilt player to register 100+ assists and 80+ steals since the 1989-1990 season. She filled up the box score in nearly every other category as well by adding 7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, in addition to her 3.6 assists and 2.8 steals. This year, she will be expected to lead the Commodores defense while working side-by-side with Chelsie Hall in the backcourt to create offense for her teammates.
– Justin Hershey, Lead Sports Analyst
Yaubryon Chambers (#5), Forward
The sophomore from Murfreesboro appeared in 13 games off the bench last season, averaging 2.1 points per appearance. Chambers is a tough defender and could carve out a role off the bench with her instincts on defense. Last year, she had four steals and blocked one shot in 27 total minutes of play. The SEC is full of talented, versatile bigs, and Chambers could be the perfect matchup to slow down opponents.
– Betsy Goodfriend, Deputy Sports Editor
Demi Washington (#12), Guard
As a former top-100 recruit according to ESPN, Washington began making a name for herself as a true freshman last season. She started 11 games and finished second among the team’s freshmen in points, assists, steals, and minutes. Washington is the biggest of the Commodore guards at 5’10” and complements fellow backcourt mates, Chelsie Hall and Jordyn Cambridge, well with her size. This year, Washington figures to continue providing solid production in multiple facets of the game and will likely cement her role as a starter moving forward.
– Justin Hershey, Lead Sports Analyst
Brinae Alexander (#15), Forward
Brinae Alexander suffered a season-ending Achilles injury just seven games into last season, but she will return to the court this year at full health. Prior to her injury, Alexander was the team’s leading scorer with 13.4 points per game. She also shot 36.4 percent from three, which ranked first on the team as well. Alexander will likely be one of the main focal points of the offense again this season due to her versatility as a scorer and ability to make plays in isolation. She and Koi Love should be terrific complements to each other at the forward position, and the bulk of Vanderbilt’s scoring will likely come from that duo.
– Alyssa Muir, Deputy Sports Editor
Brylee Bartram (#22), Guard
Florida transfer Brylee Bartram is a three-point machine. As a freshman on the Gators last season, Bartram shot 117 threes and just nine field goal attempts from inside the arc. She finished the season shooting a solid 31.7% from three-point range. Back in high school at Seffner Christian Academy, she broke the national high school career record with 533 made three-pointers. Her chemistry with senior Chelsie Hall will be fun to watch, as the two played at the same high school in Tampa. Vanderbilt hasn’t had a three-point specialist since Cierra Walker transferred to Gonzaga after the 2018-19 season, and Bartram will be a welcome addition to an offense focused on spacing out the floor.
– Betsy Goodfriend, Deputy Sports Editor
Koi Love (#23), Forward
Alongside Brinae Alexander, Koi Love projects to be one of Vanderbilt’s primary scorers this season. The sophomore forward thrived in her freshman year, appearing in 29 of 30 games in 2020, notching 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game en route to being named to the All-SEC Freshman team. Love will see an uptick in minutes and usage in her second season as a Commodore. The stat-sheet stuffer has shown very few weaknesses in her limited time on West End, with three-point shooting being the exception: she shot 21 three-pointers last season, netting just four for a 19% field goal percentage from beyond the arc. But in a recent press conference, Love noted that she worked on her range all offseason—if that translates to her game in conference play, look out.
– Simon Gibbs, Sports Editor
Autumn Newby (#24), Forward
With 84 career starts under her belt, Autumn Newby is by far the most experienced player on the Vanderbilt roster. Newby isn’t a huge offensive threat, averaging just 4.6 points per game last season, but she more than makes up for it with her defense and rebounding. On a team short for size, Newby will provide a veteran interior presence on the defensive side of the ball. Additionally, as someone who has had multiple games each season with double-digit rebounds, she will be a huge asset on the boards. Newby won’t put up a ton of flashy numbers, but her energy, hustle and defense will be invaluable to the Commodores this year.
– Alyssa Muir, Deputy Sports Editor
Kyndall Golden (#25), Forward
Kyndall Golden hardly saw the court as a freshman, playing in just five games for a total of 32 minutes—but this season should be a different story. Golden was slated to be a low-minute role player last season, but before even reaching SEC play, she suffered a season-ending knee injury against Furman. In her limited sample size, the 6-foot-3 forward appeared to have a knack for rebounding and a solid defensive presence in the paint. If and when she gets back to full strength, she could very well find herself back in the rotation for the Commodores; however, Stephanie White recently noted Golden is cleared to play, but is still working her way back into game shape.
– Simon Gibbs, Sports Editor
Kiara Pearl (#33), Guard
Pearl was a solid contributor off the bench, averaging 5.0 points in 11.1 minutes per game in 20 appearances last season. She’s athletic and not afraid to push the tempo, even as a freshman still adjusting to the speed of college basketball a year ago. Pearl missed time with concussion-like symptoms in January, but she scored double-digit points four times after she returned. The guard spot is more crowded this season, but Pearl’s energy and tempo will be hard to keep on the bench for long.
– Betsy Goodfriend, Deputy Sports Editor
Emily Bowman (#44), Center
At an incredible 6’6”, Emily Bowman is the only true center on Vanderbilt’s roster. With the graduation of Mariella Fasoula, the Commodores are losing 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game at the five spot. Bowman won’t be able to make up for all of that by herself as a freshman, but her immense size will offer an entirely new dimension to the Commodore frontcourt. The Huntsville, Alabama native finished her high school career with a dominant 1,369 points, 985 rebounds and 471 blocks. It will most likely take Bowman a little bit of time to adjust to SEC play, as is the case with most young post players, but her future as a Commodore is very bright.
– Alyssa Muir, Deputy Sports Editor
Kaylon Smith (#50), Forward
Smith was a solid contributor off the bench last year as a freshman. She appeared in 28 of the Commodore’s 30 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. Smith could see more minutes this season with the graduation of forward Mariella Fasoula, who rarely left the floor. While Smith will likely continue to come off the bench, she could develop into a player who can earn 15-20 minutes per game off the bench if she becomes a bigger scoring threat in her second year on campus.
– Betsy Goodfriend, Deputy Sports Editor
