Chandler Bing doesn’t have to look far inside Vanderbilt’s locker room to find proof that a second-year jump can happen fast. Tyler Tanner was drawing plenty of attention in Birmingham at SEC Media Days, but Bing was there too, and not just to occupy a chair in front of an SEC backdrop.
Vanderbilt brought Bing to Birmingham for a reason: the staff sees him as more than the defense-first piece he was when last season began. After a roster makeover following a 27-win season, he’s now one of the program’s most experienced players, and coach Mark Byington clearly views him as a player who’s earned more trust.
Bing says he’s ready for that next step.
“A big leap,” Bing told a Vandy on SI correspondent at SEC Media Days in Birmingham. “I feel like confidence is the biggest thing for me. I’m going into it with the coaches believing in me and I’m just very confident in my abilities and I’m just ready to impact winning.”
The numbers from last season won’t jump off the page as proof of a breakout to come, but the buzz around Vanderbilt’s Huber Center all summer has been that Bing is building on the surge he showed down the stretch in 2025-26. He started the year as a limited offensive threat, then steadily became more assertive off the bounce and more dependable as a shooter as Vanderbilt’s season unfolded.
That late-season version of Bing is the one the staff has kept in mind. Byington made it clear this summer that he doesn’t see the coming leap as just a scoring story.
“Everybody always thinks it's a scoring jump when you mention a jump, I think it’s a jump in all parts of his game,” Byington told Vandy on SI this summer. “He made impactful plays for us as a freshman and I think he’s even gonna continue that more.”
Bing has spent the offseason working on that broader development with Vanderbilt grad assistant Jack Miller and Vanderbilt Special Assistant to the Head Coach Tre Corrigan. He says his offense should expand this season, but not at the expense of the simple stuff that got him on the floor in the first place.
“My role offensively, that will grow and be bigger this year compared to what it was last year,” Bing said. “But, I feel like for me not forcing things, letting the game come to me and just taking the right shots, finding my teammates to make the right play and play the right way [is a difference].”
He knows the exhibition win over Virginia in Charleston didn’t really show the full picture. Bing went 1-for-4 from the field for two points in that game, and it wasn’t the kind of night that tells the whole story of where his game is headed. Still, the expectation inside the program is that he’s better than that, and that the bigger opportunities are coming.
Tanner, for one, has seen enough to believe it. He said he’s recognized pieces of his younger self in Bing for a while now, and he’s been impressed by the way Bing has handled the work behind the scenes. Bing’s path - from a Texas State commitment to a flip to Vanderbilt once SEC attention arrived - is part of what Tanner has always liked about him.
“He’s improved so much,” Tanner said. “He’s in the gym every day.
He’s locked in on getting better. He was already so good last year, but a bigger role, bigger opportunity for him this year, I know he’s going to take it on the chin, I know he’s going to be great.”
Bing’s value has never depended on scoring alone, but Vanderbilt clearly believes the next version of him will be more complete, more confident and more ready to swing games. After last season’s surprise contribution, that’s exactly the kind of rise the program is banking on.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt's Injury Problem Just Made This Arkansas Game Even Tougher
Vanderbilt heads into its matchup with Arkansas already juggling a familiar kind of weekly uncertainty, with the injury report piling up in the trenches and behind center. The Commodores are trying to stabilize an offense that has had to absorb multiple hits up front, while also keeping an eye on a quarterback room that has been thinned by recent setbacks.
The timing is especially awkward with Arkansas on deck, because the Commodores can ill afford to lose much more flexibility in a game where protection and depth could matter. Several players are still listed as questionable or probable, so the final availability picture may not be clear until closer to kickoff, leaving Vanderbilt to patch together answers as it goes. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Faces A Make-Or-Break SEC Test Against Arkansas
Clark Lea did not mince words after Vanderbilts blowout loss to Ole Miss, making it clear the Commodores have reached a point where talk is not enough. The frustration centers on the same issues that have kept the season from gaining traction: penalties, turnovers and the kind of undisciplined play that turns promising stretches into long afternoons. With Arkansas next on the schedule, the focus has shifted from explaining what went wrong to showing some evidence that the message is landing.
Saturday now feels like one of those games Vanderbilt has to treat as a measuring stick, not just another SEC date. Lea has stressed the need for improvement and action, and the Commodores will need a cleaner, sharper performance if they want to give themselves a real chance to leave with a conference win. The challenge is simple enough to state and hard enough to solve: prove the response is finally coming before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]