Vanderbilt announced Friday that it is parting ways with head men's basketball coach Bryce Drew after just three seasons on the job.

Drew released a statement on Twitter on the decision:

Stadium's Jeff Goodman was the first to report that Vandy athletic director Malcolm Turner had made a bold decision just two months into his tenure by opting to fire Drew on the heels of a 9-23 season that included an 0-18 mark in SEC play.

In three seasons at Vanderbilt, Drew led the Commodores to the NCAA tournament one time.

Turner released the following statement in conjunction with the announcement of Drew's dismissal:

"Vanderbilt is committed to competing at the highest levels on and off the court. After careful consideration, we've decided to make a change to the leadership of our men's basketball program. Bryce has represented Vanderbilt in exceptional fashion in his time here. I appreciate all of the contributions Bryce has made over the past three seasons to Vanderbilt, and we wish him all the best."

Per Steve Layman of News Channel 5 in Nashville, many were surprised by Drew's firing:

While Vandy had a rough 2018-19 season with no wins in SEC play and went just 12-20 the previous season as well, Goodman noted that firing Drew was a somewhat curious decision given his recruiting success.

Drew landed a pair of McDonald's All-Americans in Darius Garland and Simisola Shittu, who were both set for significant roles as freshmen in 2018-19, although Garland appeared in just five games due to a knee injury.

If Garland opts to enter the NBA draft, it is expected that he could be a lottery pick, which is something the Commodores have never produced.

Also, Vandy had one of the youngest teams in the country this season, and with only one senior on the entire roster, it seemingly has a great chance to bounce back in 2019-20, especially if Garland decides to return for one more season.

The 44-year-old Drew ends his time at Vanderbilt with a 40-59 mark, which included a 19-16 record in 2016-17 and a narrow first-round loss to Northwestern in the NCAA tournament.

Before joining Vanderbilt, Drew was the head coach at Valparaiso for five seasons, going 124-49 with two NCAA tournament appearances.

Given Drew's strong recruiting ability and history of success at the mid-major level, he figures to be a hot coaching candidate should he decide to catch on elsewhere in 2019-20.