Vanderbilt gets its man in Darius Garland

Monday afternoon, one of the longest and most followed recruiting processes in the history of Vanderbilt sports concluded with the commitment of Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) guard Darius Garland.

Garland, five-star point guard, and the 15th ranked player by Rivals in the Class of 2018, slipped the news to ESPN approximately three hours before his scheduled 2:45 press conference on Monday.

Vanderbilt was a finalist along with Indiana, UCLA, and Kentucky.

Duke was also one of the original five schools that Garland chose, but they were eliminated from consideration earlier in the fall.

In choosing the Commodores, Garland becomes the highest rated player to go to Vanderbilt in the Rivals.com era, tied with 2009 signee John Jenkins at No. 15 overall in his class.

Although there were four schools in the mix, Vanderbilt and Indiana were widely considered to be the two leaders as the process came to the wire.

Vanderbilt was considered to be the leader for the past few months. A good visit to Indiana in late October seemingly muddied the picture, but in the end Vanderbilt had too many factors in its favor for IU to overcome.

VU coach Bryce Drew had a strong relationship with the Garlands going back to when both families resided in Indiana.

The Garlands lived in Gary, Ind., and Drew coached at Valparaiso. Garland actually attended camps at Valpo as a youngster. Vanderbilt's roster and his proximity to Nashville also played major factors.

Garland joins top 150 wing Aaron Nesmith, in Vanderbilt's 2018 class.

The Commodores are also widely considered the be the leader for top-10 prospect Simisola Shittu.

A third five-star recruit, Romeo Langford, also put Vanderbilt in his final three along with Indiana and Kansas, this past Saturday.

Garland begins his high school season Tuesday night, as Brentwood Academy plays Centennial.