Jerry Stackhouse out as Vanderbilt men's basketball coach after five seasons

Vanderbilt men's basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse is not expected to return following one of the worst seasons in program history.

The school announced the decision Thursday, saying the sides had mutually agreed to part.

"I want to thank Coach Stackhouse for his competitive spirit and service to this University for the last five years,” athletic director Candice Lee said in the statement. “I appreciate his care for and attention to our student-athletes as they grew on and off the court. Commodore Nation will always remember the ‘Memorial Magic’ moments we experienced under Coach Stackhouse’s leadership. Given his pedigree, experience, and love of the game, I look forward to seeing what’s next for him. I wish him, Ramirra and his family nothing but the best in the future."

Stackhouse, in five seasons at Vanderbilt, had a 70-92 record and zero NCAA tournament appearances. Vanderbilt finished 9-23 this season, including Wednesday's overtime loss to Arkansas on the first day of the SEC tournament. The .281 winning percentage was tied for fifth worst in a season in program history.

Stackhouse was hired in 2019 from the Memphis Grizzlies, where he served as an assistant coach. He replaced Bryce Drew, who went 0-18 in the SEC in the 2018-19 season.

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Jerry Stackhouse never reached NCAA tournament at Vanderbilt

In his first season with the Commodores, Stackhouse finished 11-21 and saw the program's conference losing streak reach 28 games before finishing with a 3-15 record in SEC play. He led Vanderbilt to a 9-16 record with a 3-13 conference mark in the truncated 2020-21 season.

The next two seasons were improvements, with both ending in the quarterfinals of the NIT. In 2021-22, Vanderbilt finished 7-11 in conference play and 11th in the SEC. Stackhouse signed a contract extension in the fall of 2022, though the terms were never disclosed because Vanderbilt is not subject to typical open-record laws as a private institution.

In 2022-23, Stackhouse led Vanderbilt to a fourth-place tie with an 11-7 conference record, including a buzzer-beating win over Tennessee and two wins over Kentucky, one of which came in the SEC tournament. The Commodores had a strong case to reach March Madness on Selection Sunday and likely would have if not for resume-busting losses to Southern Miss and Grambling State early in the season.

The unsightly losses underscored Stackhouse's decline and carried over into his final run with the Commodores. Vanderbilt suffered a season-opening loss to Presbyterian in November, part of a 4-8 nonconference start that steered the season off the rails from the outset.

Jerry Stackhouse experienced frequent roster turnover

On the whole, Stackhouse struggled to retain his top players, as starters Myles Stute and Jordan Wright transferred to SEC schools after the 2022-23 season and several other bench players left the program. In his 2021 recruiting class, all three signees were gone within a year.

Stackhouse sometimes butted heads with fans. Some fans said they were alienated by the fact that Stackhouse blocked them on the X platform or by his reaction to the end of a 34-year streak of making at least one 3-pointer in 2020.

Attendance at Memorial Gym also declined as the losses mounted for Stackhouse, even compared to where it was under Drew. Vanderbilt averaged over 9,000 fans per game in all three of Drew's season, but the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons did not crack 7,000 fans per game on average. Opposing fans frequently flooded the arena. Since the end of Kevin Stallings' tenure that ended in 2016, the Commodores have sold out only once − a loss to Tennessee in 2019.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jerry Stackhouse out as Vanderbilt basketball coach after five seasons