Vanderbilt lands commitment from local 2023 prospect Isaiah West

Everything had been quiet on the basketball recruiting front, but Vanderbilt got its 2023 recruiting class off to a good start on Wednesday with the commitment of Isaiah West, a guard from Goodpasture Christian School — the same school where Drew Maddux once played.

West currently rates as a three-star recruit and #148 overall in the 247 Sports composite — and as the #1 prospect in the state of Tennessee. But that ranking actually comes with a bit of a caveat: West tore his ACL during the 2021-22 season and that caused his ranking to fall quite a bit as he’s missed the AAU season; prior to the injury, he was ranked as a top 50 national prospect (and still is, according to ESPN, though it’s not clear when those rankings were last updated.) If his recovery goes well, it’s possible that Vanderbilt is actually getting a top-50 level prospect.

It remains to be seen how many players Vanderbilt will take from the high school ranks in the 2023 class. After UTEP transfer Keonte Kennedy backed out of his commitment and went to Memphis instead, Vanderbilt has one scholarship open going into 2022-23, and Liam Robbins is the only player on the roster who’s definitely gone after next season. Jordan Wright and Quentin Millora-Brown will be seniors, though either or both could elect to use the free COVID year to return for another year. And in the era of the transfer portal, always expect roster attrition.