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Vanderbilt’s three-man recruiting class is currently ranked 47th in the country and 11th in the SEC according to 247 Sports. To be sure, the Commodores’ recruits may be underrated, and the additions of Saben Lee and Max Evans fill a very real need.
But with Luke Kornet graduating and Djery Baptiste and Ejike Obinna not being sure things to make major contributions in 2017-18, Bryce Drew is looking for more immediate help up front. Vanderbilt has two scholarships available and the Commodores are looking at the graduate transfer market.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Vanderbilt will host Michigan graduate transfer Mark Donnal next weekend, after he visits Creighton this weekend. Donnal has size at 6’9” and 240 pounds, and averaged 7.8 ppg as a sophomore at Michigan. But his playing time declined as a junior but he still shot 61.7 percent from the floor. Donnal would be eligible immediately and would have one year to play.
And in the more traditional transfer market, Rivals’ David Sisk ($) reported that Vanderbilt hosted Notre Dame transfer Matt Ryan (no, not THAT Matt Ryan) last weekend. Ryan would sit out the 2017-18 season and then have two years of eligibility remaining. Ryan played sparingly as a sophomore at Notre Dame but did average 3.6 ppg and shot 43.4 percent from three-point range, and he has size at 6’8” and 217 pounds. While this doesn’t sound like a particular need for Vanderbilt, keep in mind that Matthew Fisher-Davis, Riley LaChance, and Jeff Roberson are all graduating in 2018 and Vanderbilt has a strange dearth of shooters on the roster beyond next season, so Ryan would ultimately fill a hole once eligible.
As far as any incoming freshmen go, things have been quiet. Former target Olivier Sarr signed with Wake Forest on the first day of the spring signing period, and Sandro Mamukelashvili — who took an official visit on March 11 — has been quiet lately. The general sense is that Vanderbilt won’t sit on its two available scholarships, however.