Vanderbilt basketball star guard Tyler Tanner is returning to the Commodores after a breakout sophomore season and has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft, he announced May 27 on Instagram.
In the 2025-26 season, Tanner was the Commodores’ leading scorer at 19.5 points a game, and he also averaged 3.6 rebounds. He led the team with 184 assists and had just 68 turnovers, and set a program single-season record with 86 steals.
He was named first-team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Defensive Team, and was an honorable mention All-American.
Tanner was ranked the No. 30 prospect in the draft by ESPN, but he opted to return to the Commodores after attending the NBA scouting combine and going through workouts with teams. He also did not enter the transfer portal prior to the April 21 deadline.
Though Tanner is an elite passer and strong defender who can score, NBA teams had concerns about his size after he measured at 5-foot-10¾ and 167 pounds.
His return sets up coach Mark Byington and the Commodores to have another highly rated roster in 2026-27 with incoming transfers like Ace Glass, Bangot Dak and Sebastian Williams-Adams. It also allows Vanderbilt to have some stability on its roster after many of its top performers from the team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament ran out of eligibility.
He figures to be one of the best players in the SEC next season, and the Commodores are likely a preseason Top 25 team.
According to 247Sports, Vanderbilt ranks No. 20 in both its incoming freshman class and its transfer class.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
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