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Vanderbilt basketball guard Frankie Collins is leaving the program, head coach Mark Byington shared Tuesday night following the Commodores’ 89-86 overtime win at Ole Miss.
“Frankie has left Nashville, and he’s not gonna be on the team,” Byington said. “It’s gonna be good for both sides of it.
We wish him well. So we’ll roll with the guys we got.”
The news comes ahead of Vanderbilt’s trip to Knoxville for the regular season finale against Tennessee. With a victory, Tennessee clinches a top four-seed and a double-bye in next week’s SEC Tournament. Vanderbilt could potentially earn a double-bye themselves with a win and a little extra help.
Collins was Vanderbilt’s most highly touted transfer last offseason, coming to Nashville after spending the 2024-25 season at TCU and the three prior years at Arizona State and Michigan.
The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 7.8 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game this season but played in only nine games due to injury. Collins suffered a meniscus injury back in December that was expected to sideline him four-to-six weeks. But Collins never got back on the floor for the Commodores. His last game played was an eight-point, six-rebound and three-assist performance against Memphis on Dec. 17.
Collins never had the role people projected for him this season due largely to the emergence of sophomore point guard Tyler Tanner as well as Oklahoma transfer shooting guard Duke Miles. Still, when healthy, Collins provided another ball handler and was a solid defender. He totaled 22 steals in his nine games played this season.
Tennessee won the first matchup against Vanderbilt this season, knocking off the Commodores 69-65 in Nashville in February. The Vols are looking to sweep the regular season series against Vanderbilt for the sixth time in head coach Rick Barnes tenure.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Vanderbilt is at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. ESPN is broadcasting the rivalry matchup.
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