Tyrin Lawrence To Play Basketball at Vandy

Tyrin Lawrence, a Monticello native who is the son of Valencia Clark and the late Ivan Lawrence, has committed to play college basketball at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee as a four star national recruit.

The 6’3” shooting guard fielded several offers including Georgia State University, Gonzaga University, Kansas State University, Washington State University, University of California, and Ole Miss but decided to become a Vanderbilt Commodores last week. A highly recruited high school prospect, he is ranked #115 overall in the nation and 14th as a crossing guard, according to 247 Sports.

Though he was recruited by many institutions, Tyrin chose to visit only two campuses—Gonzaga in the state of Washington and Calfiornia in Berkeley. Ultimately he said his decision came down to two factors. The first factor was the ability to be coached by Jerry Stackhouse at Vanderbilt.

Stackhouse is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player that performed over 18 seasons in the league with various teams. Tyrin said he felt that Coach Stackhouse could help him achieve his goal of playing in the NBA someday.

His second factor for choosing Vandy was location. With only about a four to five hour drive to Nashville, Tyrin said that his family would be able to come see him play as often as possible.

“Tyrin is a very easy going, quiet young man,” noted his excited grandfather Bobby Lawrence, a longtime City of Monticello employee. “Even though he really loves basketball I really think he could have been just as good of a football player.”

His grandfather continued, “Tyrin is just a God-given talented athlete. I just wish his father Ivan was here to witness all of this. But I know he is up in heaven looking down smiling at Tyrin.”

Ivan, the son of Bobby and Loretta Lawrence, succumbed to injuries from an accident in June 2018. He was strong guiding force for each of his kids.

When asked about a possible major, Tyrin said that there had not been a decision on one yet since lately he has been focused on getting into good basketball program.

Tyrin played his middle school years and began his high school career as a Hurricane. As a sophomore, he took his basketball and academic talents to Morgan County High School in Madison where the Bulldogs won a state championship his senior year.

After he completed high school in Madison, Tyrin decided to hone his basketball skills before exploring college by attending prep school at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas.

“It was the first time I had been away from home for that long and I was homesick,” said the top recruit who noted that it was a 16 hour drive from Kansas back home. A drive he never made by opting to fly home when he could.

Tyrin said he is looking forward to getting to know people and beginning the college experience this fall.

Tyrin’s twin sister, Tayloir, is a student at Clayton State University and his older brother, De’Ivion, is a student at Georgia Military College.