Exclusive: What NBA Evaluators Told Mark Byington They Want To See From Tyler Tanner In Return to Vanderbilt – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Mark Byington can still remember it vividly, walking off the floor recalling what he’d just witnessed from Tyler Tanner. Byington recalls that the feeling came multiple times and was the result of what he remembers as special performances from his then-sophomore point guard. 
Tanner’s breakout sophomore season was the best that a Vanderbilt player has put together under Byington and was among the best individual campaigns that any player has ever put together under Byington’s watch. It was the type that convinced Vanderbilt wing Tyler Nickel to say that Tanner was the best point guard in the country, and was enough for NBA executives to believe that Tanner was a candidate to be drafted in the 2026 cycle. 
In the end, though, Tanner was a fringe first round pick and the idea that returning to school for one more season was a good one appeared to be logical to everyone in Tanner’s camp–including Byington. 
It’s not as if Tanner couldn’t have been drafted in the first round if he were to leave school this offseason, but it appears as if a number of evaluators still want to see more from Tanner before he gets into lottery consideration. 
“They want to see him physically get stronger,” Byington told Vandy on SI. “There should be some weight gain involved. They almost just want another year of the reps and things like that. He doesn’t have to take major jumps. He could play in the NBA next year. I think he’ll be more prepared to be in the NBA after another year with us.” 
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. 
He 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. Tanner was Vanderbilt’s best player for the majority of the season and was inches away from sending it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. 
Tanner’s first two years in a Vanderbilt uniform have positioned him to become one of the program’s best success stories to date, now he just needs one more standout year to become one of the program’s all-time greats, like former Vanderbilt assistant Adam Mazarei predicted he would do during Tanner’s freshman season. 
Byington is of the belief that Tanner will only have one more season left to play at the college level and that he’ll be an NBA player a year from now, but he’s expressed to Tanner that he believes coming back was the better option for him at this stage of his career. Those around Tanner agreed with what Byington felt unanimously, he said. 
As a result, Byington got to step out of a graduation party and take a FaceTime call from Tanner to hear the news that his star point guard is coming back to school. In Tanner, he’s got as close to an NBA player as there is in an upperclassman college player. 
“NBA players, they’re all just different and they’re elite,” Byington said, “But, he’s special in a lot of ways.”
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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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