Vanderbilt star guard Tyler Tanner spurns NBA draft, returns to school

Tyler Tanner is headed back to Vanderbilt for his junior season with the Commodores.

The star sophomore guard, who was testing the NBA Draft waters, instantly becomes one of the top returning players not only in the SEC, but all of college basketball. He was a 2025-26 All-SEC selection, leading the ‘Dores to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tanner opted to enter his name into the draft earlier this spring, but retained his eligibility while going through the pre-draft process. The 5-foot-10 guard was projected as a likely second-round pick, leading to his return to Nashville for what will be a highly anticipated junior campaign.

As a sophomore, he led Vandy with 19.5 points per game, adding 5.1 assists and 2.4 steals per contest, the latter of which led the SEC.

He made a massive jump from his freshman season, where he averaged 5.7 points and 1.9 assists in just over 20 minutes per game. He’ll now headline a retooled Vanderbilt roster in Mark Byington’s third season and will likely start the season as a preseason All-American and All-SEC pick again.

Tanner joins a rebuild Vanderbilt rotation for 2026-27

Byington and Co. reloaded their roster with the hopes Tanner would return and will now have one of the SEC’s most-talented lineups heading into next season.

The Commodores added Washington State star guard Ace Glass, as well as Missouri starting point guard T.O. Barrett to their backcourt, which should be among the deepest in the league. They also beefed up along the front line with Auburn transfer Sebastian Williams-Adams, former Colorado forward Bangot Dak, and Nebraska transfer Berke Buyuktuncel.

Tanner is the only one of Vanderbilt’s top seven rotation players to return from a year ago, but promising freshman Chandler Bing is also back and looking to expand his role even further.

This developing story will be updated.