Vanderbilt Lands Four-Star Recruit Ethan Mgbako

Originally posted on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI
By Joey Dwyer | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 10:35 AM ET

Four-star wing Ethan Mgbako has committed to Vanderbilt basketball and Mark Byington, he announced.

He’s Vanderbilt’s first commit in the class of 2026 and is Vanderbilt's highest-ranked high school commit since Aaron Nesmith.

The Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, native visited Vanderbilt during the weekend of its football opener against Charleston Southern and was seen on the sideline with current Vanderbilt players as well as assistant coach Xavier Joyner as well as Byington.

Mgbako is ranked as the No. 65 player in the 2026 class by 247 Sports. He chose Vanderbilt over Pitt, Florida State, Creighton, LSU, Texas A&M and West Virginia. Mgbako's list of final schools included Pitt, Georgetown, LSU and LSU. He's the highest-rated recruit in the Byington era and is the first top 150 or top 100 recruit that has committed to Vanderbilt since the second-year head coach's arrival on campus.

Vanderbilt pursued a number of top 150 players in the 2025 class and was competitive in terms of NIL, but never closed the deal. It has cast a wide net on highly-ranked class of 2026 players as it works to build a strong base of high school recruiting. Perhaps it's more appealing to those players as a result of Mgbako's commitment.

The 6-foot-5 wing—who says he’s looking to become more of a combo guard this season—averaged 20.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game on the EYBL circuit over the summer. His average scoring mark was seventh on the circuit and allowed him to rise as a prospect while playing for Team Melo. Mgbako will play for Oak Hill Academy this season.

Vanderbilt offered the Oak Hill product on July 23 and held a Zoom call with him on the same day. His commitment comes less than two months after his initial offer.

Mgbako is the brother of Texas A&M wing Mackenzie Mgbako—who used to play at Indiana before transferring to play for first-year head coach Bucky McMillan this offseason.

The Commodores made their first NCAA Tournament since 2018 last season and look to build on it with a returning core of Tyler Nickel, Tyler Tanner and Devin McGlockton. Vanderbilt will inevitably have some departures following the 2025-26 season, but could lean on Mgbako to take it back to the tournament following that group's departure.

Vanderbilt will look to add a few more commitments on top of Mgbako's before the 2026 freshman class arrives on campus next summer.

This article first appeared on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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