Inside AK Okereke’s First NCAA Tournament Win

The Cornell transfer helped Vanderbilt its first NCAA Tournament win in 14 years. It was also his first career tournament win as well.

Mar 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Ak Okereke (10) drives to the hoop past McNeese Cowboys forward Jerrell Colbert (7) during the first half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

OKLAHOMA CITY – Vanderbilt forward AK Okereke sat in his locker room chair following Vanderbilt’s 78-68 win over No. 12 seed McNeese in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. Okereke fielded questions from reporters, as is the routine with an open locker room environment. So routine that nobody would have thought that it was his first NCAA Tournament win of his career, unless people followed him.

It has been a long road just for Okereke to get to the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-7 senior started his collegiate career at Cornell University originally as a student after not having any Division I offers to play basketball.

But Okereke later walked-on at Cornell during the 2022-2023 season where he ended up earning a scholarship and played for the Big Red his sophomore and junior seasons before transferring to Vanderbilt this season.

Before the NCAA Tournament Selection Show confirmed Vanderbilt’s spot in the tournament, Okereke never had the opportunity of playing in the tournament. A year ago while at Cornell, Okereke fell just short of his NCAA Tournament dream as his team lost to Yale in the Ivy League Championship.

But this season, that dream became a reality. And to add onto the accomplishment, Okereke got his first career NCAA Tournament win as the Commodores took down the Cowboys in Oklahoma City. It is certainly a moment Okereke will remember for a long time.

“It’s special. It’s something that very few people do, and so I’m just cherishing that individually and as a collective I think is really important,” Okereke told Vandy On SI. “But at the end of the day, we do have a game to play in about 48 hours, so definitely just lock into that, their personnel and what they like to do.”

As special as it is, Okereke and the rest of his Vanderbilt teammates do not seem to be basking in the win despite the fact that Thursday’s game marked the program’s first NCAA Tournament since 2012. Rather, the Commodores were thinking about No. 4 seed Nebraska – their Round of 32 opponent – seconds after the game ended.

That speaks to the level of focus Vanderbilt has and speaks to its standards and its goals on how it wants to finish the season. Vanderbilt did not get into the tournament to be happy about an opening round win. The Commodores are in the tournament to win it.

“You want to cherish the fact that you did complete that first step, but definitely not satisfied,” Okereke said.

Following suit with the focus of the rest of his teammates, Okereke has not given too much thought into getting his first NCAA Tournament win. Though he probably does mind thinking about how far he has come in his collegiate career, he believes that reflecting on accomplishments and personal milestones is something to think about later on.

“It’s a good question,” Okereke said as he pondered on how much time he spends reflecting on his season. “I must admit, I don’t think about that too often on a day-to-day basis. But I think every once in a while it’s kind of inevitable. But, I’d probably do that more after the season realistically.”

When Okereke transferred to Vanderbilt, he was familiar with head coach Mark Byington’s track record of winning. How Byington took a James Madison team to upset No. 5 seed Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago before arriving in Nashville. Okereke and his teammates bought into Byington’s winning vision and it has paid off.

Now, Vanderbilt is just one win shy of tying a program record for most wins in a season. To Okereke, it is satisfying to see the winning vision come to life, but the full vision has yet to be lived through.

“It’s satisfying to an extent, but I didn’t come here to win one game in March Madness. We’re good enough to win a championship and every single person in this locker room believes that,” Okereke said to Vandy On SI.

Okereke and Vanderbilt will look for a second NCAA Tournament win this season Saturday as the Commodores on the Cornhuskers Saturday with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

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