UPDATE 4/5
This is no longer speculative. Drew is officially signed with Vanderbilt and out of play for Georgia Tech.
Vanderbilt has officially hired Valpo's Bryce Drew as its next head coach, sources told @CBSSports. Drew just signed papers.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 5, 2016
Original Story
It's not official at this juncture, but Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel has reported that former Georgia Tech target and Valparaiso head coach Bryce Drew will take over for former Commodores coach Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt in the coming days. This follows a report from CBS's Gary Parrish -- who has also confirmed the hiring, presumably via his own sources -- which stated that Drew was the frontrunner for the Vandy job as of last night.
Source: Vanderbilt expected to hire Bryce Drew. Deal expected to be done in next 24 to 48 hours.
— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) April 4, 2016
If the reports are true, and there's been no indication that they aren't at this point, Tech's coaching search will have taken a major hit. Drew was assumed by many to be the obvious choice for the Tech job, particularly after yesterday's news that Duke assistant Jeff Capel had withdrawn himself from the search. What's even more discouraging is that Parrish's report includes the inkling that Drew's decision came down to which school he preferred, not necessarily any difference in interest on Tech's part. This means that Georgia Tech and Mike Bobinski likely missed on the top available coach just because the job wasn't made attractive enough.
The news is hardly encouraging, but it certainly doesn't mean that the coaching search will end in disappointment; Mike Bobinski's track record indicates that he knows exactly what he's doing when it comes to finding a basketball coach. What is does mean, however, is that the public will be even more critical of whoever is ultimately hired. The search has seemingly gone from a great opportunity to a missed one for the Tech brass as more and more names continue pulling out.
Again, nothing is official yet. This could change in a heartbeat, just as coaching searches are prone to do. If it is completely accurate, however, it represents a stark shift in the dynamic of the hunt. Stay tuned for further updates as Tech searches for Brian Gregory's replacement.