How Mark Byington, Vanderbilt Basketball Expect to Play Differently in 2025-26

Vanderbilt basketball feels as if it has a new, advantageous look to it in Mark Byington's second year at the helm.

Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington talks with guard Tyler Nickel (5) during a NCAA college basketball first round game against Texas at the men’s Southeastern Conference Tournament Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt lost 79-72. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BIRMINGHAM, AL—Watching the rarely demonstrative Mark Byington sit there and have to explain away an 81-76 loss to Tennessee in the basement of Thompson-Boling Arena was an indicator that he wasn’t doing this again. 

Who knows if Byington will lose to Tennessee in 2025-26. He appeared to know one thing in that moment, though. He wasn’t going to go out like this again. Byington and his Vanderbilt team did all they could that day, they squeezed every ounce of shotmaking and intensity that they could. Yet, they weren’t good enough to close the deal. 

Not big enough. Not deep enough. Just not quite talented enough. Plain and simple. Byington and his staff tried to mitigate its weaknesses by playing up tempo and giving teams an unconventional look. 

Not anymore, says the Vanderbilt head coach.

“I just thought we got to make sure we're not trying to be like everybody else, but there were some things we couldn't overcome last year,” Byington said in his Tuesday SEC Media Days appearance. “You'll see a big size improvement, length and everything else with our team.”

When Byington and company assembled Vanderbilt’s 2024-25 roster, they were more beggar than chooser. They returned just one scholarship player and had just a few months to assemble a roster. If they wanted to win, they had to haul it to Nashville and work the phones nearly 24/7. 

Oct 14, 2025; Birmingham, AL, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Mark Byington talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Even then, their options were limited. The system Byington wanted to install in his first season at Vanderbilt had to go to the wayside at times in favor of utilizing the pieces that he required. Byington needed to land players like scoring guard Jason Edwards and lead guard AJ Hoggard to accelerate his build, but did so with the assumption that he’d have to veer off from his system in a way. 

Now that Byington has three returners in Tyler Tanner, Tyler Nickel and Devin McGlockton running the show as well as a transfer class that he didn’t have to assemble overnight and some size with the additions of Jalen Washington and Mason Nicholson, it appears as if Vanderbilt will more accurately run his system. 

This Vanderbilt team appears to be bought into its strengths, too. 

“I think there’s a lot more options,” Nickel told Vandy on SI. “It’s just going to open up a lot for everybody.” 

The additions of Washington and Nicholson allow Nickel–a natural three man–to move back to his traditional position as he looks to take a leap in his second season at Vanderbilt. In a similar way, McGlockton now has the flexibility to slide down to the four and avoid foul trouble down the stretch of games as a result. 

Instead of 6-foot-8 at the five, Vanderbilt now has 6-foot-10. It also believes it has an abundance of talented pieces that it didn’t have last season. 

Oct 14, 2025; Birmingham, AL, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores player Devin McGlockton talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

“I just feel like we’re way deeper than we were last year and we have a lot more length,” McGlockton said. “I’ll be able to play the four a bit more, I’m still gonna be at the five a little bit, that’s just gonna completely change our team rebounding wise, rebounding wise and defensively, protecting the rim.” 

Byington says that he and his staff’s offseason emphasis was to recruit more size and more shooting, a seemingly meaningless statement that carries weight in this case. Byington’s roster will be different this season and he’s embracing it.

“This year, we knew we're bringing back a core group of guys,” Byington said. “You saw some things in the league that were weaknesses of ours. We had to get bigger. We can play a certain style, do certain things. But I thought sometimes in the second half we wore down because we

just weren't as big as some teams. Some things got to us. So we changed our roster now. You look at our size, our length. We'll play bigger, not just at the center position.”