Report: Vandy hires Mark Byington from James Madison

[jbcarol]

Report: Vanderbilt to hire James Madison's Mark Byington as next head coach

by:
Thomas Goldkamp
•

Vanderbilt Commodores are closing in on the hire of a new basketball coach following the firing of previous coach Jerry Stackhouse.

According to a report from analyst Jeff Goodman, Vanderbilt will hire James Madison head coach Mark Byington. Byington is fresh off a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament with James Madison, having fallen to Duke to end the season.

Byington has been at James Madison for four seasons now, where he has helped orchestrate a remarkable turnaround.

Vanderbilt Commodores are closing in on the hire of a new basketball coach following the firing of previous coach Jerry Stackhouse.

In addition to the NCAA Tournament appearance this season, the 2022-23 campaign saw the Dukes win 22 games, the most for the program since the 1981-82 season had a program record 24. Before that campaign, Byington was named the Best X-and-O Coach in the Sun Belt...

In 2022-23, JMU set season records for total points (2,658), total rebounds (1,257), total steals (298) and steals per game (9.03), while the Dukes' scoring average of 80.5 points per game was the third-highest in their Division I history.

[jbcarol]

Vanderbilt hires James Madison's Mark Byington as next head coach

by:
Thomas Goldkamp
•

Vanderbilt Commodores have finalized the hire of a new basketball coach following the firing of previous coach Jerry Stackhouse.

The program announced Monday evening that it has tabbed James Madison head coach Mark Byington to lead the program. He is fresh off a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament:

"I'm thrilled and honored to be the head men's basketball coach at Vanderbilt University. I know Commodore fans are eager for success and we will get there together," Byington said in a press release. "I was blown away by the passion and enthusiasm of Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee and Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. We share the same vision that Vanderbilt basketball belongs as one of the nation's elite programs. I look forward to meeting the fans, alumni, students and all of Commodore Nation. Our time is coming. Get ready!!!"

Byington has been at James Madison for four seasons now, where he has helped orchestrate a remarkable run.

In addition to the NCAA Tournament appearance this season, the 2022-23 campaign saw the Dukes win 22 games, the most for the program since the 1981-82 season had a program record 24. Before that campaign, Byington was named the Best X-and-O Coach in the Sun Belt

Byington has previous coaching stops at Georgia Southern (head coach), Virginia Tech (assistant coach), College of Charleston (interim coach and assistant coach), Virginia (director of operations and graduate manager) and Hargrave Military Academy (assistant coach).

[tophawg19]

I don't know how well he can recruit but he is a good coach. They made a good hire

[jbcarol]

Hustler: Reactions to Mark Byington's hiring as Vanderbilt Men's Basketball head coach

Mark Byington — the former head coach at James Madison University — was hired as Vanderbilt's next Men's Basketball head coach on March 25. The news quickly made the rounds:

Follow Tracy Wolfson
@tracywolfson
·

After working this weekend with former @JMUMBasketball HC Mark Byington I was so impressed with how he ran his program, the way he coached and how he built chemistry with his team. Not surprised by this move- a great one for @VandyMBB
6:28 PM · Mar 25, 2024


Chris Dortch
@cdortch
·

So what can @VandyMBB expect from a Mark Byington-coached team? Pressure. Per KenPom, James Madison was 19th in DI in steals percentage. Also 5th in 3PT FG defense; that's huge in today's game. Offensively, Dukes were 47 in 2PT% and 61 in 3PT%. Balanced.
2:36 PM · Mar 25, 2024


Wes Rucker
@wesrucker247
·

Dude's a good coach.


Shan Foster
@shanfoster_32
·

Welcome to Nashville!

Vanderbilt Men's Basketball
@VandyMBB
A proven program builder. A winner.

Welcome to Nashville, head coach Mark Byington!

📰 | https://vucommodores.com/vanderbilt-names-mark-byington-head-basketball-coach

#AnchorDown⚓️

[jbcarol]

James Madison transfer big man Jaylen Carey commits to Vanderbilt, follows coach Mark Byington

by:
Andrew Graham
•

James Madison transfer big man Jaylen Carey has committed to play at Vanderbilt, he announced on social media on Friday. Carey, a true freshman this season, will have multiple years of eligibility remaining.

He is also following his coach from James Madison to Nashville. The Commodores recently hired Dukes head coach Mark Byington to take over as the men's basketball head coach.

"Let's work"

--Carey

In his freshman season at James Madison, he played in 36 games coming off the bench and averaged 7 points per game to go with 4.3 rebounds while playing almost 15 minutes a game.

Vanderbilt announced Byington as the new head coach on Monday
The program announced Monday evening that it has tabbed James Madison head coach Mark Byington to lead the program. He is fresh off a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament with James Madison, his Dukes having fallen to Duke to end the season.

[jbcarol]

Join us, as we welcome new Vanderbilt Head Men's Basketball Coach, Mark Byington.

[jbcarol]

Who is Mark Byington?

Vanderbilt hires James Madison coach to replace Jerry Stackhouse

Craig Meyer

Over the past several weeks, as his team wrapped up a conference tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, Mark Byington's name has circulated around the college basketball world as one of the most appealing candidates in the upcoming coaching carousel.

A man many figured was bound for a bigger, higher-paying job has now selected his destination.

Two days after his Dukes were eliminated by Duke in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, James Madison coach Mark Byington has been hired by Vanderbilt as the school's next coach.

Byington will replace Jerry Stackhouse, who mutually agreed to part ways with the Commodores on March 14 after the former NBA all-star compiled a 70-92 record across five seasons with the program, including a 9-23 mark in 2023-24. In Nashville, he'll look to provide the kind of consistent success Vanderbilt has been lacking since Kevin Stallings' tenure from 1999-2016.

While Byington has seen his profile rise this March, he's still a relatively little-known figure to some, especially fans of the program he's now tasked with overseeing.

Who is Mark Byington?
Byington recently wrapped up his fourth season as the head coach at James Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

This past season, he helped guide the Dukes to just their second NCAA Tournament since 1995. Once in the 68-team field as a 12 seed, James Madison made the most of its appearance, beating 5 seed Wisconsin 72-61 in a game in which the Dukes never trailed.

James Madison finished the season with a 32-4 record and the Sun Belt Tournament championship in the program's second season in the league. The Dukes finished second in the Sun Belt regular-season standings, one game behind Appalachian State.

Byington's team attracted nationwide attention in its season opener, when it went on the road and stunned then-No. 4 Michigan State 79-76 in overtime. It was the catalyst for a strong start for James Madison, which won its first 14 games and rose as high as No. 20 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, marking the first time in program history it had ever been ranked.

Mark Byington record
Over his 11 years as a full-time head coach, Byington has a record of 213-133.

At James Madison, Byington went 82-36 overall and 41-23 in Sun Belt play. The Dukes' 32 wins this season were the most in a season in program history, shattering the previous record of 24 in 1981-82. The NCAA Tournament victory was their first since 1983.

Byington's Georgia Southern teams went 131-97, giving him the second-highest win percentage of any coach in program history. In the five seasons prior to Byington's arrival in 2013, the Eagles had gone just 51-106. Despite inheriting a struggling outfit, his teams finished with a losing record only twice, with both instances coming in his first three seasons.

If there were a blemish on his Georgia Southern resume, it was that he failed to lead the program to the NCAA Tournament, which it hasn't made since 1992.

Mark Byington coaching career
Byington was a full-time Division I assistant coach for 10 seasons before landing the job at Georgia Southern.

He joined the Eagles after a one-year stay as an assistant at Virginia Tech in 2012-13, his second stint as an ACC assistant, having previously done so at Virginia from 2004-05 as the Cavaliers' director of operations.

Mark Byington age
Byington is 47 years old.

A Salem, Virginia native, Byington is a UNC Wilmington graduate who played basketball at the school from 1994-98. He was a second-team all-conference and all-defensive team selection as a senior in 1998 in what was then known as the Colonial Athletic Association (now the Coastal Athletic Association).

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman@GoodmanHoops

New Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington has put together the following staff, sources told @TheFieldOf68.

Xavier Joyner, Jon Cremins, and Matt Bucklin all coming with him from JMU. Also hired two veterans with plenty of high-major experience in Rick Ray (Colorado) and Tom Ostrom (Drake).
9:51 AM · Apr 4, 2024
·

[jbcarol]

Joe Tipton
@TiptonEdits
NEWS: Virginia Tech transfer guard MJ Collins has committed to Vanderbilt, he tells @On3sports


The 6-4 sophomore averaged 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game this season.

https://on3.com/college/vanderbilt-commodores/news/virginia-tech-transfer-guard-mj-collins-commits-to-vanderbilt

[jbcarol]

Vanderbilt shooting guard Malik Presley enters NCAA Transfer Portal

by: Andrew Graham
•

[jbcarol]

Davidson transfer guard Grant Huffman commits to Vanderbilt

by: Wade Peery
•

Davidson transfer shooting guard Grant Huffman officially committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday evening, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN. One of the more complete guard prospects in the portal, Huffman averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game last year for the Davidson Wildcats, the former home of Steph Curry.

Huffman will join a couple of former Virginia Tech standouts on the Commodores roster, shooting guard MJ Collins and small forward Tyler Nickel, the all-time leading scorer in VHSL history.

[jbcarol]

North Texas transfer Jason Edwards commits to Vanderbilt

by: Barkley Truax
•

North Texas transfer Jason Edwards has committed to Vanderbilt out of the NCAA transfer portal, his agent tells college basketball insider Jeff Borzello.

Edwards averaged 19.1 points for North Texas last season, playing in 34 games and starting 22 for the Mean Green. He transferred into the program last offseason from junior college.

While his scoring abilities were on full display last season, he averaged only 2.3 turnovers per game as North Texas'lead guard. Entering the SEC next season, cutting back on turnovers while improving upon his 1.4 assists per game would be a huge step in his development under first-year head coach Mark Byington.

[jbcarol]

Hustler: The start of the Mark Byington era in Nashville

22 hrs ago

Byington met with the Hustler at the McGugin Center

There is no time to sit back and relax in today's college basketball. While the offseason may allow some programs to recuperate, Mark Byington has been in go-mode since he arrived in the Music City in late March.

Just one hour before Vanderbilt landed its seventh transfer commit, Byington took time out of his hectic schedule to eat lunch with members of The Hustler at the McGugin Dining Hall on Tuesday.

Byington hasn't had much time to acclimate to Nashville. The 48-year-old has been working 20-hour days since he came into the role of head coach. Byington has been unable to reflect on James Madison's magnificent 32-3 season and was too busy to properly celebrate his birthday on Monday.

Byington was greeted by one of his players and playfully asked if he had straight-A's.

It was clear. Less than 40 days into his new position, Byington is already in his stride.

After finishing his playing career at UNC Wilmington in 1998, Byington took a four-year hiatus from college basketball which included selling gym memberships, insurance and going to the University of Virginia to get his Master's. At some point, Byington's adoration for basketball only heightened and the former collegiate star rushed back to being near the hardwood. Now, he'll rush to take on his newest challenge: rebuilding Vanderbilt basketball.

Creating an identity

Byington has never coached a team in the power six conference. Still though, he believes he has the credentials to bring back Memorial Magic and a winning program on West End. Byington has an overall head coaching record of 220-137 and won 69.5% of his games in his four seasons at James Madison.

Vanderbilt last made the NCAA Tournament in the 2016-17 season but Byington is confident that drought will end through the development of a new identity. The brand of basketball he will develop will be an offense that is fast and filled with several ball handlers and shooters. Above all else, Byington is centered on developing a culture that feels like a family.

"I'll say this: I'm genuine and honest," Byington said. "I'm trying to help everybody do their job. I want fans to better relate to me. I'm not a guy who walks around with my head down when I walk outside the office. I think the coolest thing right now is when I walk around campus and the students are running up to me and they're telling me their story."

[jbcarol]

Vanderbilt forward Ven-Allen Lubin enters NCAA transfer portal

by: Alex Weber
•

Vanderbilt forward Ven-Allen Lubin entered the NCAA transfer portal with a no contact tag, On3's Jamie Shaw and Pete Nakos have confirmed.

Lubin originally began his career at Notre Dame but transferred over to Vandy after Mike Brey left the program in 2023. In 2023-24, Lubin started every game he played and turned in averages of 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Ven-Allen Lubin is a former four-star recruit and was the No. 70 overall player in the nation from the 2022

Vanderbilt adds ACC transfer
By On3's Grant Grubbs

Former Boston College forward Devin McGlockton has committed to Vanderbilt

[jbcarol]

@TiptonEdits
BREAKING: Vanderbilt transfer guard Tyrin Lawrence is returning to his home state and has committed to Georgia, he tells @On3sports.

The 6-4 senior averaged 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season.

https://on3.com/college/georgia-bulldogs/news/vanderbilt-transfer-guard-tyrin-lawrence-commits-to-georgia

[jbcarol]

@AdamZagoria
Schools to reach out to
@ButlerMBB
 transfer Posh Alexander :

Dayton
Saint Louis
Wake Forest
Vanderbilt
Utah

Averaged 11ppg, 5 rpg and 5 apg