Exclusive: Mark Byington Breaks Down Tyler Tanner's Return To Vanderbilt Basketball – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Mark Byington was working to be present while standing and socializing at a high school graduation party, but he knew that there was a FaceTime call coming his way at any moment and that he had to take it when it came. When the phone lit up and Tyler Tanner’s name was spelled out across the top of it, Byington swiped right on the bottom of the screen to hear the declaration Tanner had for him. 
It was Wednesday afternoon, less than 12 hours before the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline and Byington still hadn’t gotten a final stay-go verdict from his star point guard. Byington says he felt good about the odds that Tanner would spend one more year in his program leading up to the day, but says the decision wasn’t made entirely until after Tanner’s Wednesday morning workout with the Memphis Grizzlies. Byington was still accounting for the idea that Tanner would impress the executives on hand enough for him to hear something that would keep him in the NBA Draft. 
Byington and Tanner had been in communication almost daily throughout the Draft process, but this was set to be their most significant piece of communication yet; the verdict. 
“Coach,” Tanner said, “Are you around anybody right now?” 
“I am,” Byington replied, “But I’ll step away.” 
Byington moved away from the crowd while Tanner waited to deliver his news. When Byington finally finished his walk into obscurity, Tanner dropped it on him. 
“Let’s do it again,” Tanner told him. “I’m coming back.” 
“I think people might’ve heard me yelling in excitement,” Byington told Vandy on SI. “I just confirmed to him that I thought it was the right decision and then made him the promise that I’m gonna do everything I can to make this even better for him the next year.” 
Tanner’s sophomore season was among the best that Vanderbilt basketball has seen in the past decade and put Tanner in the mix to be a first round pick if he were selected in the Draft. Tanner averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5% from the field as well as 36.8% from 3-point range. He was Vanderbilt’s leading scorer and started to draw buzz in regard to the NBA Draft as Vanderbilt began conference play. Byington believes that buzz will turn to something better for Tanner this time a year from now, though. 
Byington isn’t hiding from the idea that he believes Tanner will be drafted in June of 2027 and will be among the best point guards in the country as a junior. It’s also clear to Byington that Tanner doesn’t need to have another season in which he takes a big jump statistically if he’s going to do so.  
Throughout the process, Byington gathered intel from NBA executives after every pre-draft workout that Tanner participated in. He says NBA people love Tanner’s offensive profile, hands and anticipation on the defensive end as well as his analytical profile. Tanner was nationally ranked in 13 of KenPom’s 18 individual efficiency metrics, three of which aren’t catered to guards. 
When Byington evaluated Tanner’s standing at the beginning of the process, he wasn’t sure what the right decision for his point guard would be. As it went, though, he couldn’t help but think that one more year at Vanderbilt was the best route for Tanner’s professional hopes. He reaffirmed that to Tanner when Tanner told him he was returning to school. 
“I was really confident that this was the right decision, the right place,” Byington said. “What I like about it is that everyone that loves and cares about him and supports him were all unanimous. Then, it’s like ‘let’s run this back and see how good it can be.’” 
Byington says that he would’ve missed the off-court interactions with Tanner significantly if Tanner were to have gone to the next level and the way Tanner carries himself off the floor will be contagious among the rest of Byington’s team. Byington believes he’s already got proof of concept in that regard.
With Tanner as its best player in 2025-26, Vanderbilt finished with a 27-9 record, a win in the NCAA Tournament and was one shot away from reaching the second weekend. Tanner was a First-Team All-SEC player and led Vanderbilt to the SEC Championship game. 
Multiple sources have indicated to Vandy on SI that Vanderbilt’s player compensation budget is more substantial than it was a season ago, though, and there appears to be optimism that Tanner could be leading Byington’s best team to date. Byington won’t say it directly, but he doesn’t appear to be shutting down that idea. 
“If you have somebody who’s your best player who stands for the right things, that means you’re gonna have a good team,” Byington said. “If your best player doesn’t stand for the right things, who knows what your team is going to look like. I know we have somebody real good, who is gonna make sure that our team is good.”
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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