Mark Byington Updates Frankie Collins' Status After Wake Forest Absence

Frankie Collins will miss a stretch of his final college basketball season. Vanderbilt basketball will have to adjust as a result.

Dec 3, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Frankie Collins (1) goes up and under the arm of Southern Methodist University Mustangs guard B.J. Edwards (0) during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt point guard Frankie Collins is out with what Mark Byington described as a lower-body injury. Byington said the injury is not season-ending, but that he does not have a timeline for it. 

Collins averages 7.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. The TCU transfer is shooting 38.2% from the field and 25.0% from 3-point range. Vanderbilt turned to veteran guard Mike James to account for Collins’ usual minutes on Sunday afternoon. 

Byington appeared to like the look that Collins and Tanner presented alongside each other, but now he’ll have to lean on veteran off guard Duke Miles to take on more ballhandling responsibility without Collins in the lineup. 

“We’re gonna miss Frankie,” Byington said on the postgame radio. “Hopefully it’s not too long.” 

“God just wanna see how bad you want it, he gotta put you through a little adversity” - Mark Fletcher

God is Great!!! All the time 💯💯

— frankie💕 (@Frankiecollins0) December 21, 2025

Collins has appeared in nine games this season, but missed two games prior to Vanderbilt's trip to the Bahamas as a result of a lower-body injury. The Vanderbilt guard also missed the majority of last season at TCU due to a broken foot that he suffered against Vanderbilt. 

The fifth-year senior returned to action in the spring and was a participant in Vanderbilt's summer program. The Vanderbilt guard is in his fifth college basketball season and hadn't taken his improved health for granted as a result of what he went through a season ago.

"It put a smile on my face, being back on the court and being able to dribble the basketball," Collins said in the spring. "I really struggled mentally sitting out for a season. It was the hardest thing I've dealt with basketball wise because it was my first injury and my first surgery." 

A spokesman told Vandy on SI that Collins did not make the trip to Winston Salem.

Now, Collins will have to deal with sitting out one more time before the final stretch of his career.