Clark Lea Gets Additional Offseason Honor: The Anchor
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Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea continues to lengthen his post-2025 season coaching resume. After being named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Regional Coach of the Year, Lea was named the 2026 AFCA President Tuesday afternoon.
This honor comes just weeks after he concluded what was a historical 2025 season for his program. The Commodores went 10-3, reaching the 10-win mark for the first time in program history while defeating three AP Top 15 teams in the process. Vanderbilt beat then-No. 11 South Carolina, No. 10 LSU and No. 15 Missouri en route to Vanderbilt’s first season ever with six or more wins in SEC play.
Lea’s honors since the season ended have started to pile up. Lea was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and was also named the 2025 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year as well as being named a finalist for the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award.
Two years ago, Lea was on the AFCA Board of Trustees before his climb to the presidential role for the organization. Lea is the second Vanderbilt coach to serve as president of the organization.
Vanderbilt has had a busy offseason since the transfer portal opened Jan. 6. The Commodores lost wide receiver Tre Richardson and safety Randon Fontenette to the portal. But Vanderbilt has gotten wide receivers Cole Adams and Ja’Cory Thomas from Alabama and Old Dominion to commit as well as former Clemson safety Ricardo Jones.
Today’s Commodores Schedule
No. 10 Vanderbilt men’s basketball at Texas, 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis vs Tennessee State at 11 a.m. CT.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis vs Tennessee Tech at 5 p.m. CT
Yesterday’s Commodores Results Today
There were no games scheduled yesterday.
Did You Notice?
Vanderbilt men’s tennis season begins today. The Commodores host a double header in Nashville against in-state schools Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech. A season ago, Vanderbilt men’s tennis finished 12-14 during its spring season. The first match of the day begins at 11 a.m. CT while the second match of the day begins at 5 p.m. CT.
Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Baseball Season Opener
30 days
Commodores Quote of The Day
[When David Price thought about giving up baseball] “The reason he was quitting is because he no longer wanted to go to school. He just wanted to work in fast food, and he wanted to drop everything.”Tim Corbin
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.