Vanderbilt basketball’s AJ Hoggard suspended 1 game for being in pre-draft event | Report

Three weeks before its season tips off, Vanderbilt basketball was handed some less-than-ideal news.

AJ Hoggard, a Michigan State transfer who is expected to be one of the Commodores’ best players and primary offensive contributors, has been suspended for one game for the upcoming 2024-25 season, according to a report Monday from college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.

The disciplinary move comes as a result of Hoggard participating in the Portsmouth Invitational, an annual pre-draft showcase for college seniors who are heading off to begin their professional careers. Participation in the event is against NCAA rules.

REQUIRED READING: Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Shea Ralph receives contract extension

Hoggard already has played four seasons at Michigan State, but had an extra season of eligibility remaining due to an NCAA extension granted to players because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He committed to Vanderbilt on May 18, about a month after the Portsmouth Invitational took place.

While notable, the punishment could have been more severe for Hoggard. In previous years, the NCAA has hit Portsmouth Invitational participants with three-game suspensions.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard was the centerpiece of a 10-player transfer recruiting class brought in by first-year Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington.

REQUIRED READING: Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia asks for ‘College Football 25’ rating bump after Kentucky win

Hoggard earned All-Big Ten recognition in his final two seasons at Michigan State and finished as one of just five players in program history with at least 600 assists. Last season, he averaged 10.7 points, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals a game as the Spartans won 20 games and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Vanderbilt opens its 2024-25 season and Byington’s tenure with a Nov. 4 game against Maryland Eastern Shore, which went 9-20 last season and is No. 362 of 364 Division I teams in KenPom’s 2024-25 preseason rankings.

Hoggard’s suspension comes six days after the Commodores announced that forward Kijani Wright, a transfer from USC, is out indefinitely due to a “non-basketball related health issue.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt basketball’s AJ Hoggard reportedly suspended one game