Vanderbilt Basketball's Tyler Tanner Named Preseason All American, Again – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Tyler Tanner has been named a preseason first-team All-American by the AP, per a Wednesday release. 
The AP named Tanner a preseason All-American alongside Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears, Florida wing Thomas Haugh, Illinois forward David Mirkovic and Arizona big man Motiejus Krivas. 
Tanner has already been named a First-Team All-American by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Magazine, Basket Under Review and a number of other national outlets. 
"He's gonna get a lot of attention, and it will not change him one bit," Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington told Vandy on SI over the summer. "He will not feel any kind of pressure, and he really won't react to it. That's who he is, his upbringing and what he's about. But everything that he gets is deserving of because of how he played last year."
Tanner averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and just 1.9 turnovers per game while shooting 48.5% from the field as well as 36.8% from 3-point range in 2025-26. He was Vanderbilt’s leading scorer and started to draw buzz in regard to the NBA Draft as Vanderbilt began conference play, but opted to pull his name from the draft in favor of returning to Vanderbilt.
He 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. Now, he’s got a chance to be one of the program’s best players ever. 
It took 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," Byington toldVandy 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 went for 18 points and recorded six steals in 22 minutes in Vanderbilt's Monday-night exhibition win over UAB at Memorial Gymnasium. Now, he'll look to deliver a number of similar performances in his junior year.
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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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