Report: JMU's Mark Byington Hired as Vanderbilt MCBB HC; Replaces Jerry Stackhouse

Vanderbilt has hired James Madison's Mark Byington as the team's new head coach in the wake of Jerry Stackhouse's firing, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel.

Byington led James Madison to a record of 32-4, resulting in an appearance in the NCAA tournament. His team pulled off an upset victory over Wisconsin in the first round before falling to Duke in the second round on Sunday.

Stackhouse was previously fired after Vanderbilt was eliminated in the SEC tournament.

After steadily improving in each season from 2020 through 2023, the team took a large step backwards during the 2023-24 season. Coming off a commendable 22-15 campaign, Stackhouse led Vanderbilt to a paltry 9-23 record which included a 4-14 mark in the SEC.

As for Byington, he's coming off a season with the Dukes that was already considered to be extremely successful well before their NCAA tournament victory. The team set a school record by recording 32 wins compared to just four losses in the regular season, emerging victorious in the Sun Belt Conference tournament to secure a March Madness berth.

James Madison's defeat of Wisconsin represented the program's first NCAA tournament win since 1983.

After four seasons with the school, Byington will leave with a record of 82-36. He also has seven years of head coaching experience with Georgia Southern prior to leading the Dukes. Byington finished with a winning record in each of his final four seasons at his previous stop, including 20-win campaigns from 2017-18 through 2019-20.

Now, he'll attempt to help Vanderbilt get back on track after the team appeared to be on the verge of a breakout year after a promising 2022-23 season. The Commodores have not made the NCAA tournament since 2017.