National College Basketball Outlet Ranks Tyler Tanner As One Of The Best Players In The Country – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Basket Under Review, a national college basketball outlet, has Tyler Tanner ranked as the No. 3 player in the country ahead of the 2026-27 college basketball season. 
Two of the three voters had Tanner as the No. 2 player in the country while one had him No. 4. The only players voted ahead of Tanner are Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears and Florida wing Thomas Haugh.
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 in 2025-26 and is back for one more season on West End.
He took it until the last day of the NBA Draft process, but Tanner opted to return to Vanderbilt despite having buzz that positioned him to potentially be selected in the first round. Now, he’s aiming to put himself in the first round next season. 
"He'll be extremely motivated," Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington told Vandy on SI. "We've seen the intensity in him and the way he's been able to change his body. You won't be able to tell he's motivated because he won't outwardly tell you, but you can see it in his actions."
Tanner signed with this Vanderbilt program a day after it hit rock bottom by losing to Presbyterian on opening night of the 2023-24 season and hasn’t wavered in his commitment to the program despite a coaching change and what could have been a lucrative deal elsewhere this cycle. 
“Vanderbilt is just kind of my home for college basketball,” Tanner told Vandy on SI. “Even if Vanderbilt was a little further away and I was still playing for the same staff, it would still be home. I love the fact that my friends and family can come to games and I can see them and they can support me in person because it just takes all the weight off of you and all the pressure on you is kind of off."
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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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