Vanderbilt Basketball Transfer Portal Superlatives: Most Valuable Transfer, Biggest Strengths, Biggest Concerns – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington and company have opted to go a different route in regard to the way they've approached the transfer portal and who they're opting to prioritize in it. As a result, they'll have a different looking roster in 2025-26 than they did in 2024-25.
Vanderbilt's staff doesn't yet know if its portal class is complete, a source told Vandy on SI, because of Tyler Tanner's stay-or-go decision and AK Okereke's petition to get an extra year of eligibility. If this is it, here's a few superlatives in regard to its class.
Most meaningful addition: Bangot Dak
Vanderbilt had yet to land a truly game-changing big man in the Mark Byington tenure prior to Dak’s commitment, but it no longer has that issue.
Dak is Byington’s first 7-footer at Vanderbilt and is a unicorn of sorts in that he can play on the perimeter, handle the ball and put it on the deck. In Dak, Vanderbilt is also adding an above average defensive rebounder and a potentially game changing shot blocker.
“I feel like my decision to commit to Vandy came down to what Coach Byington has been able to do in the past with his team," Dak told Vandy on SI. “He said he feels like if I get an improved shot, with how his offense is, that I'll be able to show my abilities to shoot the ball and get to the rim a lot more often and just do what I'm able to do that not many typical big players can do in college basketball.” 
The addition is important because of what Dak can provide for this Vanderbilt team, but it’s also important because of what the addition represents.
Dak was likely Vanderbilt’s most expensive transfer addition and he’s the type of player that Vanderbilt hasn’t been able to land in Byington’s tenure. 
Most underrated transfer: Berke Buyuktuncel 
Buyuktuncel won’t change the outlook of games with his scoring very often, but he raises Vanderbilt’s ceiling significantly because of his physicality and ability to get a bucket in the low post. 
In Buyuktuncel, Vanderbilt is getting some things that it hasn’t had much of throughout the Byington tenure. It’s also getting the most true to position four man that it’s had under Byington. 
There’s some optimism that Buyuktuncel can provide more offensive versatility than he did at Nebraska when he arrives at Vanderbilt, as well. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg always thought that Buyuktuncel was a better shooter than his below 25% mark from 3-point range indicated. Perhaps this is the time and place where Buyuktuncel becomes a better player on the perimeter. 
Even if he doesn’t, he’s big and nasty. Vanderbilt needed that on this roster. 
Biggest portal loss: George Kimble
Kimble was really the only transfer that Vanderbilt had future plans for, but its plans didn’t align with Kimble’s expectations. As a result, they went their separate ways. 
Calling Kimble a significant loss that will come back to haunt Vanderbilt is going too far, though. Vanderbilt wasn't going to start Kimble this season, that role was always going to go to a player like Washington State transfer Ace Glass instead of Kimble. The role Kimble was going to fill now belongs to either Missouri transfer TO Barrett or standout freshman Ant Brown, and at least Barrett is an upgrade over what Kimble would’ve provided. 
Vanderbilt really didn’t lose a whole lot this cycle. Although, if Tyler Tanner opts to stay in the NBA Draft then there are more conversations that need to be had here. 
Biggest portal strength: Size 
Size is expensive these days, and Vanderbilt clearly allocated a number of resources to it while getting some breaks along the way. 
Vanderbilt has a true starting five man in Dak to complement the depth pieces that it already had on the roster in Jayden Leverett and Jackson Sheffield. Perhaps its deepest position on the roster is the four, where it will have Buyuktuncel, Auburn transfer Sebastian Williams-Adams and potentially AK Okereke, if he’s granted an extra year of eligibility. 
Byington’s teams have often been limited because of their lack of size, but this team won’t have that issue. 
Biggest concern: Shooting 
Here’s the 3-point shooting percentages of Vanderbilt’s transfer additions; 36.4%, 30.8%, 25.9% 24.1% and 20.5%. Vanderbilt’s only potential returners that shot over 30% from beyond the arc are Tanner and Okereke. 
Talking to Vanderbilt’s transfer additions often entails them admitting that they have to become better 3-point shooters if they’re going to be effective. Vanderbilt likes everyone that it’s gotten, but it’s relying on significant shooting leaps from a few of its rotational pieces. That’s not a place that Byington has often been as Vanderbilt’s coach. 
Perhaps Byington is trading some shooting for increased size to follow the re-emergence of big men in college basketball.
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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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