Behind the scenes, there’s a group of people who have helped Vanderbilt basketball to its best season in more than a decade and a No. 2 seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
The “gold squad” is a group of men’s practice players the Commodores added this year. They are all Vanderbilt students who aren’t on athletic scholarships and don’t get paid. But they show up every day to serve as the scout team. The Commodores (28-4) have had a handful of practice players in the past, but this is the first time they’ve had a full team to work out against.
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And they consider the practice players part of the team in March Madness, where the women will face No. 7 seed Illinois (21-11) in the second round on March 23 (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2) at Memorial Gymnasium.
In the past, it was the coaches who were often on the court leading the drills. That resulted in situations like what happened in 2025, when assistant coach Kevin DeMille tore his Achilles shortly before March Madness. Now, the team has the chance to practice together instead of splitting up while protecting the coaches from injury.
“They just show up because they love to play basketball and they want to help our team,” Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said. “I think what we do give them is an opportunity to be part of our family. We treat them just the same way as we treat our players. And they’ve made a huge impact for us.
“So I’ve been on my staff’s butt for the last three years literally, we need better practice players. We need higher level of talent, greater level of commitment. Because it is going to make a difference. I know that because I’ve seen it.”
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The gold squad’s commitment stands out. Before one SEC game against an opponent she would not name, Ralph said that the squad did not believe it was prepared to resemble that team in practice, so it requested to join a film session. One practice player, Sawyer Garrett, designed custom sneakers for the team to wear on Selection Sunday.
Practicing against men is common in women’s basketball because they bring a high level of physicality, preparing the women as they face a gauntlet in the SEC and the NCAA Tournament.
“I had no clue really who they were, but then they showed up and started hooping,” guard Mikayla Blakes said. “They were killing us a little bit, and we didn’t realize how fast they were and how physical they were, especially with rebounding. It’s just helped us get better.”
In the Commodores’ first-round 102-61 win over High Point, they out-rebounded the Panthers 56-26. After the game, several players credited the gold squad with helping them increase their level of physicality.
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“We have a great squad of practice players, and they definitely push us every day because they’re very athletic,” forward Aiyana Mitchell said after the game March 21. “They push us every day to build good habits about crashing the boards.”
Vanderbilt prides itself on its family environment, and the practice players are part of that, being invited to team dinners. The women in turn expect and receive the same level of commitment in return.
It may go overlooked, but it’s one small way Ralph has helped take her team from SEC bottom-feeder to NCAA bubble team to top-two seed. And as March proceeds, the under-the-radar addition could prove vital.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How ‘gold squad’ has helped Vanderbilt women’s basketball in March Madness
