Who could replace Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt?

The Vanderbilt men's basketball program has a coaching vacancy for the first time since 1999, and the process of filling it could go in numerous directions.

Kevin Stallings is the new Pittsburgh coach, leaving Vanderbilt after 17 seasons as the winningest and longest-tenured coach in Commodores history. His departure also means Vanderbilt is the last SEC basketball program to hold a coaching search in the 2000s.

Here are some preliminary candidates athletics director David Williams might consider in Vanderbilt’s coaching search, in alphabetical order.

Tommy Amaker (Harvard): He has 351 victories in 19 seasons at Seton Hall (1997-2001), Michigan (2001-07) and currently Harvard (2007-present). Amaker, the former Duke point guard and assistant coach, took Harvard to five straight Ivy League regular-season titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances in the best stretch in program history. But before that, Amaker did not make an NCAA Tournament in six seasons at Michigan.

Rick Byrd (Belmont): As a close friend to Stallings, it would probably take the blessing of the former Commodores coach for Byrd’s candidacy to even be a possibility. Byrd has a 639-323 record and seven NCAA Tournament trips in 30 seasons at Belmont. He has shown no signs of finally leaving the Bruins, but this is a unique situation of coaching a team with high academic standards and just down the street from his current job. It would be seen as a home run hire if Byrd made the move.

POLL: Who should replace Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt?

Bryce Drew (Valparaiso): He has a 123-48 record in five seasons at Valparaiso, including two NCAA Tournament trips and two NIT appearances. Valparaiso will play BYU in the NIT semifinal at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. The Crusaders have dominated the Horizon League for most of Drew’s tenure, posting a 64-19 conference mark with four regular-season titles and two tournament championships in five years. Before that, he was an assistant coach and player at Valparaiso.

Travis Ford (formerly Oklahoma State): At 46, he is relatively young for a retread coach. And Ford has name recognition as a former All-SEC point guard at Kentucky. As a coach, Ford guided Eastern Kentucky to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, took UMass to two NIT trips in three seasons, and then went 155-111 and made five NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons at Oklahoma State. Last week, Ford was fired at Oklahoma State, as the Cowboys only got to the NCAA Round of 32 once in his time there.

Chris Holtmann (Butler): Holtmann already has a good gig in the Big East at Butler, but he’s a hot name on many coaching search lists right now. The Kentucky native has earned 23 and 22 wins in his first two seasons at Butler while advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 both times. Butler beat Texas in the 2015 NCAA Tournament and knocked off Texas Tech this March.

James Jones (Yale): One of the best coaches in Ivy League history, Jones is Yale’s all-time winningest coach (254-239 in 17 seasons). He led Yale to an upset of Baylor last week for the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. Yale lost 79-74 in double-overtime to Vanderbilt on Jan. 3, 2015, at Memorial Gym.

Matt McCall (UTC): Will Wade’s successor at UT Chattanooga, the 34-year-old McCall led the Mocs to a 29-6 record, Southern Conference title and a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament. UTC lost to Indiana last week in its NCAA Tournament opener. Before McCall took over the Mocs, he was already regarded as an up-and-coming coach while serving four seasons on Billy Donovan’s staff at Florida.

Chris Mack (Xavier): The 46-year-old could have his pick of jobs if he wants to leave Xavier. But it’s his alma mater, and his contract runs through 2021. Mack has guided Xavier to a 162-77 record and six NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons, including three Sweet Sixteen runs. In Xavier’s third year in the Big East, Mack guided it to a 28-6 overall record, 14-4 conference record and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Archie Miller (Dayton): Near the top of many wish lists, the 37-year-old Miller has posted a 115-55 record and three straight NCAA Tournament trips in five seasons at Dayton. His last three seasons have gone like this: 26-11 and Elite Eight, 27-9 and one NCAA Tournament win, and 25-8 and an NCAA Tournament first-round loss. Dayton beat Vanderbilt 72-67 at Memorial Gym this season.

King Rice (Monmouth): A former Vanderbilt assistant under Stallings (2006-11), Rice finally got Monmouth over the hump this year after four mediocre seasons. The Hawks went 28-8 and were regarded as perhaps the biggest snub of the NCAA Tournament selections. Monmouth got solid wins over Notre Dame, USC, UCLA and Georgetown. Overall, Rice has a 79-85 record in five seasons at Monmouth.

Will Wade (VCU): A 33-year-old Nashville native and former UT Chattanooga coach, Wade followed Shaka Smart at VCU and led the Rams to a 25-11 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. VCU beat Oregon State in its first NCAA Tournament game last week and then lost to Oklahoma in the Round of 32. The former Harvard assistant had a 40-25 record in two seasons as UTC head coach.

Buzz Williams (Virginia Tech): One of the hottest coaches in the country two years ago, Williams took Marquette to five straight NCAA Tournaments, two Sweet Sixteen runs and an Elite Eight in a mere six years. He has a 184-122 combined record at New Orleans, Marquette and now Virginia Tech. Williams went 20-11 this year with an NIT appearance in his second season at Virginia Tech. Williams should be on the wish list of many schools with vacancies, but there's no indication if he would leave.

How did David Williams' Vanderbilt coach hires pan out?

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.