Vanderbilt Guard Tyler Tanner Receives Another Preseason National Honor – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—The preseason awards keep coming in for Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner. 
Basket Under Review–an ascending national college basketball outlet–labeled Tanner as the SEC’s Preseason Player of The Year and a First-Team All-SEC player in 2026-27. The outlet also ranked Vanderbilt No. 7 in its SEC preseason poll. 
“Is it a wise bet to come back and hope you actually do become a lottery pick in a much less loaded class? Perhaps, but it's best for Vanderbilt above all,” The outlet pointed out in its preseason Vanderbilt preview. “In terms of players returning to college basketball this season, Tanner has the highest Box Plus-Minus at +11.4 (the same as lottery pick Kingston Flemings) and is one of just three players (Braden Huff at Gonzaga and Terrence Hill, Jr. at Tennessee) to post a +7 or higher BPM to go with a 125+ ORtg on 25%+ or higher Usage%.”
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. 
Basket Under Review also named Tanner as the No. 3 player in the country heading into the 2026-27 season, only behind Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears and Florida wing Thomas Haugh.
"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."
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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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