Vanderbilt Basketball Gets One All-SEC First Team Selection, Picked to Finish Top Half of SEC – Sports Illustrated

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The college basketball regular season is in just a few weeks as SEC basketball media days tipoff in Birmingham, Alabama this week.
The conference released its All-SEC selections as well as the preseason poll for the upcoming basketball season. Vanderbilt basketball had one player named as a preseason All-SEC First Team selection and it comes as no surprise. Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner was named to the preseason All-SEC First Team by league and national media members.
The mention of Tanner as one of the best players in the SEC heading into the season is maybe the least surprising news from the preseason all-conference selections. Joining Tanner on the First Team All-SEC list is Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard, Tennessee guard Juke Harris and Florida bigs Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu.
Tanner was electrifying for Vanderbilt as he led the Commodores to fourth place in the SEC regular season last year while also helping Vanderbilt get to the SEC Tournament Championship game against Arkansas in March.
Tanner averaged 19.5 points per game, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds as during the 2025-26 season. Tanner shot a little under 49% from the field and a little under 37% from three-point range.
Along with the preseason All-SEC selections, the conference released its preseason poll. In the poll, the Commodores are picked to finish sixth in the SEC this upcoming season. Vanderbilt was picked behind Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama.
Vanderbilt is coming off a season where it exceeded expectations. Vanderbilt finished last season with a 27-9 record and a trip to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt saw its season end in heartbreaking fashion at the hands of No. 4 seed Nebraska in the second round of March Madness.
Going into this season, Vanderbilt is looking to get further than where it finished in March. Head coach Mark Byington brought in a transfer class and is looking to be very important to the success of his team this season. Byington also brought in a group of freshmen that are also looking to contribute throughout the year.
Vanderbilt’s 2026-27 season has technically gotten started already. The Commodores beat Virginia in an outdoor exhibition game in Charleston South Carolina at the end of September. Vanderbilt will play two more exhibitions before it officially begins its new campaign. Vanderbilt will take on UAB in Memorial Gymnasium Oct. 19 before going south to play Miami (FL) in the team’s final exhibition Oct. 23.
Then, the Commodores new regular season officially begins. Vanderbilt takes on Bellarmine at home Nov. 2 as it looks to take the next step in the Byington era.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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