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NASHVILLE—Tyler Tanner rose from sitting just beyond the sideline around Memorial Gymnasium’s halfcourt line and walked towards the floor to check in with 5:52 left in Vanderbilt’s Thursday-night win over Wake Forest. As he did so, the crowd came to its feet and raised the volume of the gym significantly.
But, the ovation wasn’t for Tanner.
No, that was for the star of Thursday night. That was for Ant Brown. That was for Vanderbilt’s best freshman since Tanner, who has Tanner’s blessing to be the next guy here when he inevitably heads to the NBA.
“He’s the one,” Tanner told Vandy On SI prior to Brown playing his first game in a Vanderbilt uniform. “He’s my dawg. He's gonna surprise a lot of people this year.”
Brown had just left the floor after demonstrating to the first real Memorial Gymnasium crowd he’d ever played in front of that the Ant Brown experience is set to be a part of the Memorial Gymnasium experience for as long as he’s playing in it.
If Thursday indicates anything, that experience includes electric off the bounce scoring and shotmaking, Brown changing the outlook of games with his microwave scoring ability and Brown looking like the most confident man in the gym when he’s got it going. Brown faced a few older guards Thursday night, but was fearless in the face of them.
It only took two games, but Brown has won over the same Memorial Gymnasium crowd that he was a part of a year ago when Vanderbilt beat Alabama to open SEC play. That night, Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles had his moment and formal introduction to the crowd. Every great Vanderbilt player seems to have an arrival like that, including Tanner–who did it around this time his freshman year when Cal came to town–and Brown appeared to have his on Thursday.
By the end of it, Brown was sitting in the second row of the Memorial Gymnasium stands signing autographs. Before he got there, Tanner’s dad Dwayne caught his attention by yelling his name and giving him the moniker “double-double man,” in commemoration of his double-double against UAB. By the end of the night, Byington had given him another moniker.
“He’s like a microwave,” Byington said. “He doesn’t lack for confidence. He's got a swagger to him. That's why I brought him here. He thinks he can make plays, and I love that. And I thought this with him. I know there were flashy 3s and the great plays he made there, but he was also solid on defense and I didn't think he tried to hit home run plays. He's learning along the way. He's going to be good. And he’s gonna be a big part of this team. He's gonna have nights like this and other nights where he can get going on offense quickly.”
Byington’s compliments undersold Brown in one way. He already is a big part of this team. When Vanderbilt was locked in a rock fight with Wake Forest, Brown was the one to break the game open. He made the open ones. He made the heat check. He took ownership on the defensive end more than he has in any showing against a power-five program yet.
Brown went for 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and 4-for-9 shooting from 3-point range on Thursday and was perhaps the most confident player on the floor. Brown still has to refine his shot selection, but he’s among the best difficult shotmakers on this Vanderbilt team.
Ant Brown just had his first big Memorial Gymnasium moment.
Two makes from 3 there to spark a Vanderbilt run. Vanderbilt leads Wake 22-13. pic.twitter.com/89J1qd5YTf
He faced a few older guards Thursday night, but was fearless in the face of them. He’s going to have his freshman moments in 2026-27, but he’s going to push Vanderbilt towards the finish line a few times this season. Brown did that on Thursday with eight second-half points and was on the floor for Vanderbilt’s final legitimate stretch of the game, indicating that he’d earned Byington’s trust.
Brown told Vandy on SI that night that he envisioned himself playing in Byington’s scheme because of Byington’s tendency to let the guards he trusts play freely. Byington appears to want to refine Brown’s game skill, but he doesn’t want to strip him of what makes him effective.
Before stepping on Vanderbilt’s campus, Brown was already its most famous player. Brown has 26,900 followers on Instagram and is the subject of countless highlight reels in which his off-the-bounce game is showcased. A fadeaway make from 3-point range in which Brown had his back turned to a defender and fell out of bounds in the Washington Wizards’ Capital One Arena was particularly noteworthy. So was his 52-point game, which set his high school’s record for scoring in a game.
Byington knew Brown would get on the floor. He loved his ability to play both guard spots. He loved how he could get everyone involved. He loved how he could complement everyone else. He thought he could be a leader because of how people gravitate towards him.
“He's got a flashiness, he’s got a pizzazz to him,” Byington said this summer. “Our fans are going to love him.”
Byington thought Brown was one of the best scorers in the 2026 high school class as a result, now the Memorial Gymnasium crowd appears to agree with him.
Looks like he was right.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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