"There’s been some misconstrued information," Mark Byington Updates Frankie Collins' Injury Timeline

Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington set the record straight in regard to the injury that has kept Frankie Collins sidelined.

Nov 3, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Frankie Collins (1) brings the ball up court against the Lipscomb Bisons during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington saw a report that indicated that Vanderbilt guard Frankie Collins will be out "indefinitely" with a torn meniscus and went out of his way to set the record straight prior to Vanderbilt's Monday night game.

“There’s been some misconstrued information about Frankie’s injury,” Byington said on the radio prior to Vanderbilt’s game against New Haven. “It’s not as bad as what I saw was put out there. He won't be out as long as they said out there.” 

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. The Commodores will now have to turn to sophomore point guard Tyler Tanner and veteran scoring guard Duke Miles even more heavily as they enter conference play on Jan. 3. Tanner, Miles and Collins make up one of just 26 backcourts in college basketball history that includes three players averaging over four assists per game. 

The fifth-year point guard 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 did not travel with the Commodores to Wake Forest for their eventual blowout win over the Demon Deacons and is on the bench wearing street clothes during Vanderbilt’s Monday-night matchup with New Haven. 

Byington said after Vanderbilt’s matchup with Wake Forest that his team would “miss” Collins and what he brought it, but that he didn’t have a timeline on the injury that prevented him from making the trip to Winston Salem. 

Collins 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." 

Collins will used what he learned last season as he works to make an effort to help Vanderbilt down the stretch of the 2025-26 season–in which it’s started 12-0.