Student-Athlete Features
VUCommodores.com — Nesmith at the Next Level
Evan Daniels: Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith is ready to make a loud comeback
Honors:
- 2020 SEC Academic Honor Roll
- 2019 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
As a Sophomore (2019-20):
- Played and started in 14 games and averaged 23 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 assists per game
- Preseason All-SEC Second-Team member
- SEC’s leading scorer at time of his injury
- Made 60 total 3s on the season which led Vanderbilt
- His 60 3s ranked 10th in the SEC at the end of the regular season
- Scored in double figures in every game
- Scored 34 points in a game at Richmond and 34 in game vs. UNC Wilmington
- Tallied 20 or more points in seven other games
- Made seven or more 3s in four games – Southeast Missouri State, at Richmond, UNC Wilmington and SMU
- Made a career-high eight 3-pointers against SMU
- Was second in the nation in 3s made per game (4.28) and led the SEC in 3s per game, 3-point field goal percentage (.522) and scoring (23) at the time of his injury
- Was fifth nationally in points per game
- Also ranked eighth in free-throw percentage (.825) and field-goal percentage (.512) in the SEC prior to his injury
- His .522 3-point shooting percentage is the best by a Commodore in a single season
- Tallied a career-high 34 points in an overtime loss at Richmond on Nov. 14, the most points by a Vanderbilt player since Shan Foster vs. Miss. State (3/5/08) and the most points by a Vanderbilt player on the road since Billy McCaffrey at Georgia (35, 2/24/93)
- At the time of his injury, one of two players in the nation to make seven or more 3s in a game four times
- His 23 points per game scoring average would have ranked second all-time for a Vanderbilt player in a single season behind Tom Hagan’s 23.4 ppg average in 1968-69
- His eight 3s made against SMU tied for the second-most by a Commodore since 1996
- Posted season-high seven rebounds against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, at Richmond and at Auburn
- Dished out season-high three assists against SMU
- Had season-best three steals against Tulsa and at Auburn
- Did not score less than 14 points in a game all season
- Made multiple 3s in all but two games
As a Freshman (2018-19):
- Played in all 32 games and made 19 starts
- Averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game
- Led Commodores in scoring in SEC games only with 13.5 points per game
- Named to SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
- Scored 20 or more points in four SEC games as a true freshman and tallied double figures in 14 total games
- His 5.5 rebounds per game tied for the eighth-most by a Vanderbilt freshman in a single season (Kevin Bright, 2013)
- Set new career highs in points at Florida (26)
- Was a career-best 12-for-15 from the free throw line
- Scored 24 points and had career highs in field goals made (9) and minutes (42) against Tennessee
- Tallied 23 points against South Carolina and made a career-best five 3s
- Posted 24 points and career-high 14 rebounds against Auburn
- Posted 20 points and then-career-high 13 rebounds in win over Savannah State
- Scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists in win at USC
The Nesmith File
- One of the class of 2018’s top shooters
- Averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game as as senior
- Scored 2,067 career points and was named Most Outstanding Player at both the Chick-fil-A Classic, where he made nine 3-pointers, and the Rotary Roundball holiday tournament
- Also a three-time South Carolina Independent School Association 3A Player of the Year
- Three-time honoree as All-Lowcountry player of the year by the Charleston Post and Courier
- Son of Benard and Erine Nesmith
- Has one brother, Eddie, who attends Harvard
- Majored in Human and Organizational Development
- Advice to young people: “Always work hard and give that little extra effort when your peers are not.”