After four years playing for Tom Izzo at Michigan State, veteran point guard AJ Hoggard entered the transfer portal and ultimately committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores for his final season in college basketball.
Hoggard chose to play for new coach Mark Byington at Vanderbilt over a final five that included Florida, Georgia, Washington, and USC.
Hoggard is a polarizing player, regressing from an excellent junior year to average 10.7 points and 5.2 assists as a senior in what was a rough year for the Spartans in the Big 10.
Vanderbilt has been very active in the transfer portal since Byington replaced Jerry Stackhouse, adding four guards already in Chris Manon (Cornell), Grant Huffman (Davidson), MJ Collins (Virginia Tech), and Jason Edwards (North Texas).
Still, Hoggard should get the keys to the offense for Vandy, and in an offensive system that worked exceptionally well at James Madison there is an opportunity for the 6’3 guard to put together the best season of his career under coach Byington in Nashville.