Elite Basketball Is the New Standard at Vanderbilt

Both Vanderbilt basketball teams debuted on Monday with blowout wins. That’s often how the season starts for elite programs, which ramp up to conference play with less competitive nonconference games throughout November and December, a rare tier of college basketball that will undeniably include Vanderbilt this year.

An active offseason rebuilt both the women’s and men's rosters, led respectively by Mikayla Blakes and Tyler Tanner, two sensational guards beginning their third seasons with professional basketball potential.

Spectacular play from Blakes helped notch Monday’s 112-53 opening win against crosstown Lipscomb. Sophomore Aubrey Galvan, whose 16 points and 11 assists gave her a double-double, looks to reprise her point guard duties alongside Blakes this year. Disruptive defense has been head coach Shea Ralph’s signature over six seasons at Vanderbilt; her team began this season by logging 22 steals, a sign of high-effort play and court awareness that has made the team nationally competitive.

Volleyball Is Vanderbilt Athletics’ Latest Success Story

Four years after reviving the women’s volleyball program, Vanderbilt has another team vying for a national title

Early rankings have the women’s program at No. 8 in the Associated Press poll behind SEC opponents No. 1 South Carolina and No. 6 Texas. Blakes and her teammates face their first real test on the road against No. 10 Iowa on Nov. 15, followed by a Dec. 3 home game against Hannah Hidalgo and No. 13 Notre Dame, a rematch of the Dores’ Sweet Sixteen exit in March. Ralph added a high-quality transfer from rival Georgia in Mia Woolfolk and two top freshmen in Olivia Jones and Jhai Johnson. Jones, specifically, is a five-star recruit eyed as a breakout star.

Tanner’s 20 points and four steals led Vanderbilt to a 93-47 win on Monday over Bellarmine. Tanner, a local success story who graduated from Brentwood Academy, has garnered hype as a potential first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft. The Vanderbilt men sit at No. 24 in the AP Poll behind SEC programs No. 1 Florida, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 20 Alabama and No. 23 Kentucky. Men’s head coach Mark Byington added size and depth with Sebastian Williams-Adams, a 6-foot-9 forward who transferred from Auburn, and Berke Buyuktuncel, a 6-foot-10 center who defected from the Nebraska team that ended Vanderbilt’s March Madness run last year. A Jan. 2 date with Tennessee is the team’s first match against a ranked opponent and will open conference play in the highly competitive SEC. 

Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Storey Lee speaks openly about the school’s embrace of the name, image, likeness era — a series of court decisions that have allowed compensation for college athletes — and navigates team building like the front office of a pro sports franchise. Recruits, graduations, acquisitions and departures left a core group intact for both teams while several of last year’s stars caught WNBA and NBA attention, another sign that Vanderbilt can produce the nation’s best basketball players.

Former sharpshooter Justine Pissott is probably the best example, earning a rotation spot on the dynastic Las Vegas Aces. Men’s star Tyler Nickel was drafted into a two-way contract with the New York Knicks while teammates Duke Miles, Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke earned minutes in the NBA’s summer league.