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Published Jan 3, 2025
2025 Bold Predictions
Brian Carlson  •  TheDoreReport
Contributor

The ball has dropped, confetti has littered the streets, and champagne has been consumed. We’ve officially turned the page on 2024 and moved on to the new year. We have a fresh, new year full of potential and we’re left to wonder:

What’s in store for Vandy in 2025?

You’re in luck, as I’ve looked into my magic crystal ball which has revealed the future. I have taken this information and compiled my bold predictions for 2025:

Shea Ralph will bring the women’s basketball team back to their rightful place among the nation’s elite programs.

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The current team remains inexplicably unranked in the polls but sits at #12 in the NET rating. Khamil Pierre will win SEC Player of the Year, Mikayla Blakes will win SEC Freshman of the Year, and the team will make its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2009. This most promising part of the roster is how young the core is. Pierre is only a sophomore, as are key contributors Madison Greene and Aiyanna Mitchell. Sacha Mitchell, who was the team’s top post presence last season but sitting out the season due to a blood clot will presumably be back next season. With the right offseason additions, Coach Ralph’s gals look poised to make a legitimate Final Four run for the 2025-26 season.

Vanderbilt men’s basketball will also win a postseason game…  in the NIT.

In many seasons, this might be a bubble NCAA tournament team. Unfortunately, this season isn’t like most years. The SEC is stacked like never before, with 10 teams currently in the AP top 25. The good news is Vandy did manage a sterling 12-1 nonconference record, which affords some margin of error in conference play for postseason consideration. They are going to need it for the gauntlet that awaits them. With football season winding down, and Nashville professional sports going nowhere, I do see more buzz returning to the men’s basketball program. People will start to notice this team is fun to watch. Gradually, Memorial Gym will start to become a difficult atmosphere for opposing teams again. Memorial Magic might not be completely back, but I see them getting enough upsets at home to earn an NIT bid. I know winning an NIT game isn’t cause for a parade, but considering where this program was last March it’s a huge step in the right direction. Coach Byington will continue to build his roster in the offseason, and his team should be more competitive in SEC competition for next season.

Tim Corbin gets his mojo back with a return to Omaha.

Believe it or not there have been whispers, even among some Vandy fans, that the game has passed Corbin by. After all, Vanderbilt’s signature program has failed to advance past the regional in the last three seasons – an unimaginable “drought” by the lofty standards of the VandyBoys. Corbin is an old school coach with a strict, uncompromising process that

has served him well for the better part of two decades. Perhaps this new era of NIL college free-agency and his reluctance to embrace it would finally lead to the end of Corbin’s VandyBoys as we know them? Not so fast. Like his good friend, Clark Lea, Corbin did a program self-examination and overhauled his coaching staff that had grown stale and less effective. He signed a top 10 recruiting class and landed several transfers that look to make an immediate impact. On paper, this doesn’t look like a vintage Tim Corbin roster poised to make a deep run. The pitching staff is largely unproven, and the bats have been maddeningly inconsistent and lacking pop. Making it to Omaha may seem like a reach, but underestimate Corbin’s resiliency and your own peril.

Vanderbilt football wins 10 games for the first time in program history.

This is obviously a huge shot in the dark as final rosters for every program are far from finished at this point and who knows what teams will be ranked where heading into next season. This past year was the season Vandy learned how to win. Next season, they will learn how to handle success and build upon it. The huge caveat here is Diego Pavia staying healthy. While he played in every game this past season, he was noticeably banged up as the team limped down the stretch. Watching Vandy play with a healthy Pavia versus when he was limited was like watching two different teams. The Commodores will once again upset a top 10 team, effectively knocking them out of the playoffs on their way to a 9-3 regular season. Pavia will win MVP honors in a Citrus Bowl victory, and will have taken this program to an unprecedented high as he departs.

Bowling wins another national championship.

Because… why not? I’m not going to pretend to break down the dynamics of college bowling, but the crystal ball has spoken. The dynasty rolls on (pun intended).

So, there you have it, a glimpse into the future of Vandy athletics. Time will tell if I’m a prophetic genius, or if these are just the ramblings of a delusional lunatic who will end up on @oldtakesexposed. Meanwhile, buckle up, sit back, and enjoy the ride in 2025…