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Vanderbilt

Mark Byington addresses Frankie Collins' status with Vanderbilt

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax02/26/26BarkleyTruax

Frankie Collins has not suited up for Vanderbilt men’s basketball since the win over Memphis on Dec. 17. Amid his lengthy absence, Commodores head coach Mark Byington gave a rather vague update on his status with the program.

“We’re figuring it out,” Byington said when asked whether Collins was still a part of the team. “I’ll update you guys when we have a definite answer. But, he’s not going to, back or not back is not going to damper what we’re doing tonight. But I will give you updates as soon as I have one. No updates right now.”

Collins was dealing with an injury, however, his absence has spanned two months when he was raised questions about whether he’s still a part of the program. With Byington neither confirming nor denying, questions surrounding his availability moving forward will remain.

He remains on Vanderbilt’s injury report, being listed as “out” for every game since the conference schedule began after New Year’s. Notably, Collins was not a part of the senior day activities on Wednesday during Vanderbilt’s 88-80 win over Georgia.

In nine games played this season, Collins did a little bit of everything when on the court. He averages 7.8 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Overall, Collins is in his fifth season of college basketball — and Vanderbilt is the fourth program he’s played for over that span. He began his career at Michigan before transferring to Arizona State for two seasons — where he started in 66 of 67 games he appeared in for the Sun Devils — before transferring to TCU in 2024 and then finally landing at Vanderbilt ahead of the 2025 season.

Vanderbilt is 9-0 with Collins on the court this season. Still, the No. 25-ranked Commodores have still been able to compile a 22-6 record including a 9-6 record against the SEC. 22 wins is currently tied for the most by any SEC program with the reigning national champion Florida Gators.

Whether Collins comes back before the end of the season remains to be seen. For the time being, the Commodores will shift their focus to their upcoming road trip to Kentucky on Saturday. Vanderbilt will stay on the road for the final two games of the season (at Ole Miss, at No. 22 Tennessee) before the SEC Tournament.