Mark Byington reacts to Vanderbilt being picked last in 2024-25 SEC Poll

The media isn’t confident in Mark Byington‘s first year as Vanderbilt‘s head coach. At the 2025 SEC Media Days, Byington reacted to the Commodores being chosen to finish last in the SEC in the preseason media poll.

“I didn’t even know when the poll came out. I just heard this morning that we were picked last,” Byington said. “Look, this is my 12th year as a head coach, and I’ve been picked every single place possible — first, last.

“The good thing is I know some people had some votes, it’s not normally right, and there’s going to be a lot of things decided between now and then. If we’ve got to take on an underdog role and a prove people wrong role, that’s great, we’ll adjust to that.”

This offseason, Vanderbilt parted ways with Jerry Stackhouse, who led the program for five years. In the 2023-24 season, Vanderbilt finished with a 9-23 overall record and a 4-14 mark in conference play. In five years under Stackhouse’s guidance, Vanderbilt failed to make an NCAA Tournament appearance.

The program was ready for a fresh face to take over, and Mark Byington was that fresh face. Before coming to Vanderbilt, Byington spent four seasons as James Madison‘s head coach. Similar to his situation at Vanderbilt, Byington didn’t inherit a winning program.

In the year before Byington became head coach, James Madison went 9-21. In comparison, Byington led the team to a 13-7 record in his debut season at the helm. He didn’t stop there, finishing his time at the program with an 82-36 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2023-24 season.

Now, Byington hopes to find similar success with the Commodores. Nonetheless, he isn’t concerned with proving the doubters wrong.

“It’s not something that we were going to get caught up in,” Byington said. “Whatever number somebody else thinks we are, that’s going to be a weakness, so we’re going to try to focus on who we are and the best we can be.”

Vanderbilt added 10 players via the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason, including Michigan State guard AJ Hoggard and USC center Kijani Wright. With two incoming freshmen as well, Mark Byington boasts a solid cast of talent for his first season leading the Commodores.

He’s excited for the challenge ahead.

“It’s an honor to not only coach at Vanderbilt but to be in the SEC,” Byington said. “People talk all the time about, ‘Are you worried about the teams, the top 25 teams, everything else?’ The reason I’m at Vanderbilt and in this league is because it’s the best.

“There’s challenges, and it’s the best coaches, environments, and I want to be a part of that. Right now we’re trying to build Vanderbilt to be one of the better teams in the SEC and also the country.”