Vanderbilt big Lee Dort commits to Cal

The California Golden Bears land a controversial commitment to shore up the frontcourt.

Cal lands a first major commitment out of the transfer portal in Vanderbilt Commodores sophomore big man Lee Dort. Dort is connected by Cal assistant Adam Mazarei, who recruited him to Vanderbilt when he sat on their bench a few years ago.

Dort is a name that is going to invite controversy, and is the first eye-raising move from Mark Madsen. Dort did not get to play at Vanderbilt much at all this year because he was suspended due to a criminal investigation. The allegation referred to aggravated assault of an ex-girlfriend.

Dort did appear to reach an agreement to have his criminal case dismissed by meeting certain conditions in a pre-trial diversion agreement, and a protective order against him had also been dropped. However, the plea review would only occur on March 28, so he did not play again for Vanderbilt and remained suspended indefinitely from the team. It is likely that when the plea review was completed, the case was dismissed, and Madsen and Mazarei could feel comfortable proceeding forward.

There is no denying Dort’s talent. He was a top-50 prospect coming out of high school. In his freshman year at Vanderbilt in 2022-23, he had multiple games with multiple blocks. He has the potential to grow into a very solid rim protector.

We will have to hope Madsen exercised his due diligence before moving forward with this decision.