Column: Tyler Tanner’s Return Makes Vanderbilt Basketball a Very Dangerous Team

When Vanderbilt men’s basketball’s 2025-2026 season came to an end in what could be described as the most heartbreaking way possible, it did not take long before the thought of what the roster for next season was going to look like.

Vanderbilt was losing key pieces like Duke Miles, Tyler Nickel, Devin McGlockton and Jalen Washington and the need to address needs through the transfer portal was obvious. But the most important player head coach Mark Byington needed to retain was his star point guard, Tyler Tanner.

Today, the top priority on Vanderbilt’s offseason to-do list was achieved. Tanner has announced that he is going to withdraw from this year’s NBA Draft and return to Vanderbilt for his third collegiate season.

Tanner’s decision was easily one of the biggest stories to monitor in college basketball this offseason. The impact Tanner had on Vanderbilt his sophomore season was something few players in college basketball can have. Now that he will play for Byington for his junior season, the trajectory of Vanderbilt’s 2026-2027 season has gone way up.

Tanner’s decision to return for Vanderbilt cannot be overstated. This is truly a move and an addition for Byington’s team that completely changes the ceiling of where Vanderbilt can go next season.

Without Tanner, Vanderbilt is still a NCAA Tournament team and probably still a team that would hover around the top 25 or 30 to start the season. With Tanner now, though, Vanderbilt feels and looks like a team that can have one of, if not, maybe the best season in program history if things go according to the Commodores’ plans.

That is how dynamic and impactful of a player Tyler Tanner is in college basketball. This past season, he led Vanderbilt to a 27-9 season, top four in the SEC and an appearance in the SEC Tournament Championship Game as well as a No. 5 seed in this past season’s NCAA Tournament.

It was a significant jump for Tanner from year one to year two under Byington. While he may not have a bigger jump from year two to year three, Tanner has the opportunity to be just as impactful for Vanderbilt.

During the transfer portal, Byington and his coaching staff seemed to base their decisions and additions around the scenario in which Tanner returned to Vanderbilt. The Commodores addressed needs in the post with center Bangot Dak and Nebraska big Berke Buyktuncel. Vanderbilt also added Tanner’s new backcourt running mate, former Washington State shooting guard Ace Glass with former Missouri guard T.O Barrett likely being the next guard in the rotation.

Those additions make Vanderbilt a respectable team even without Tanner. But now with Tanner, Vanderbilt has the look of a top 15 team in college basketball, maybe close to the top 10 or 12.

With the additions Vanderbilt added, it may not need Tanner to be superman all the time. If Tanner is just as or more impactful for the Commodores next season, that will be enough to make Vanderbilt a viable threat to make it into the Sweet 16 or further come next March.

Tanner’s decision to return to Vanderbilt also says something else about this program: it was not a one-year wonder. Tanner returning is another example that Vanderbilt is a place players want to be at and a place where players can continue to develop into possibly NBA players.

A year ago, Vanderbilt was 11-7 in the SEC and snuck into the final double-bye spot for the conference tournament and finished as the runner-up in the conference. Now, Vanderbilt has a roster that has the potential to be even better and go further. If it lives up to the potential, the success Vanderbilt has will likely all be traced back to Tanner deciding to return for a third season.

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