Tyler Tanner has accomplished things in two seasons that most people don't in their careers.
As a sophomore in 2025-26, Tanner was one of the biggest breakout players in college basketball for Vanderbilt. The 6-foot guard was named First Team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Defensive Team and was an honorable mention All-American after averaging 19.5 points per game, along with 3.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.4 steals. He holds single-season program records in both assists and steals and the single-game record in assists.
Tanner declared for the 2026 NBA Draft and took his decision down to the 11th hour before finally withdrawing and deciding to return to Vanderbilt, giving coach Mark Byington and the Commodores their centerpiece.
"You see what he does
on the court," Byington said Oct. 13 at SEC Basketball Tipoff '27 at the Hotel Wildemont Birmingham, Alabama. "To have a first team all-league guy back who can do so many things to impact the game, makes others better, can score, is not scared of big moments, has been in big moments, we continue to expect him to expand and keep getting better. And the thing I've talked to him about is, that might not be shown in a certain stat, but I can tell you he's better. I'm around him every day, and I've watched what he is."
Tanner was named a preseason First Team All-SEC this week, losing a close race to Florida's Thomas Haugh for SEC Preseason Player of the Year.
"Coming back to the same staff, I'm just super excited about being ready to play here soon," Tanner said on the SEC Now set. "I love all my teammates. It's been great so far, since I did make that decision, I'm ready to get better. I'm liking every day, to be 1% better. I think it's going to be a great experience."
Tanner is one of just three players returning for the Commodores. He joins Chandler Bing and Jayden Leverett as holdovers, with the rest of the team consisting of freshmen and transfers.
Byington said that a metric he was shown had Vanderbilt as the second-youngest major conference team in the country this season − the team has just two seniors and no fifth-years, compared to seven freshmen and four sophomores.
Tanner, thus, is now one of the team's veterans and leaders.
"The other side of having him back, the person having back," Byington said. "He's as high character, good of a person as you're ever going to meet. And that is our culture, and that shares with the other players on the team. So if your best player will sacrifice and is unselfish and is about the right things, that spreads to the rest of the guys. And so having him back for all those reasons, there's not a more valuable player in the country.
"Just everything that he can do on the court, off the court, what he means to me, what he means to Vanderbilt. So I'm glad we got year three with him."
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Mark Byington called Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner the most valuable player in country
