Report: Mark Byington puts together Vanderbilt staff
Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington has completed his coaching staff, per a report from Jeff Goodman.
Byington's former Vanderbilt staff will include Xavier Joyner, Jon Cremins and Matt Bucklin, who were on his staff at James Madison. Former Mississippi State head coach Rick Ray and former Indiana, Florida and Arkansas assistant Tom Ostrom will also join the staff.
Ray was most recently at Colorado while Ostrom was on Darian DeVries staff at Drake.
Joyner was on Byington's staff at James Madison for four seasons as the program made its first NCAA Tournament since 2013. The former James Madison assistant came to JMU after two seasons as an assistant coach at Mount St. Mary's and what James Madison describes as "a lengthy coaching career with stops at the collegiate, high school and AAU levels."
Cremins, the nephew of former Charleston head coach Bobby Cremins, has been on Byington's staff for six seasons dating back to their time at Georgia Southern. The Vanderbilt assistant also went 55-11 as the head coach at Spartanburg Methodist.
Bucklin was hired by James Madison prior to the 2022-23 season after stints on Brad Brownell's Clemson staff and Mark Fox's Georgia staff.
“Matt has already worked alongside some great basketball minds, including Brad Brownell and Mark Fox,” Byington said in a release while at James Madison. “They trusted him with a lot of responsibility and very much prepared him for this opportunity - he will be a great addition to our staff. Matt is a tireless worker and will make huge impacts on our player development, game planning and recruiting.”
Ray feels like the veteran of the staff.
“He’s a tremendous coach on every level,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said in a release . “He can teach the game, knows the game, recruits and builds relationships with players. We are very fortunate to be able to bring him on board.”
Before taking the Mississippi State and Southeast Missouri State head coaching jobs, Ray was an assistant coach, or associate head coach, at four schools over 15 seasons.
“I’m in this business to help young men,” Ray said while at Colorado. “I’m there to help them on and off court. I want (the players) to know there’s no ego, I’m humble, I just want them to reach their goals and dreams in classroom and on the court. Recruiting is about relationships. I’m a person who is honest and truthful to recruits and parents and people appreciate that.”
Ostrom is highly regarded for his recruiting work at Indiana as well as Dayton under Archie Miller. The former Drake assistant also worked under Billy Donovan at Florida.
"He has a tremendous amount of experience and has been a key part of some very good programs," DeVries said. "I really love Tom's passion for the game and his desire to have a positive impact on the student-athletes in our program."
The next step for Byington and his staff is to put together a capable roster for Vanderbilt as it looks to rebuild after a 9-23 season.