Tyler Tanner Earns All-SEC Honors

Vanderbilt’s point guard was one of the most dynamic players in the conference the entirety of the season.

Mar 7, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Tyler Tanner (3) during a timeout against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner has now been awarded All-SEC honors after the conclusion of the regular season. Monday afternoon, the SEC released its men’s basketball 2025-2026 awards and Tanner was named to All-SEC First Team and was also named to All-SEC Defensive Team.

Tanner was easily one of the top players of the conference all season. When Vanderbilt needed someone to step up in the big moments, Tanner has always been the one to go takeover a game.

Vanderbilt’s 86-82 win over No. 23 Tennessee Saturday was one of the latest examples of that trait Tanner possesses. Tanner scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting and 7-for-8 on free throws. Tanner helped the Commodores build a 17-point lead over the Volunteers that would ultimately be too much for Vanderbilt’s rival to overcome.

In Vanderbilt’s 89-86 overtime win against Ole Miss six days ago, Tanner willed his team to victory with 10 of Vanderbilt’s 13 points in the overtime period.

Tanner’s spot on All-SEC First Team is well-deserved as he has averaged 19.2 points, 5.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this season. Over the weekend, Tanner joined Jay Williams and Jason Terry as the only players in the last 30 years to average at least 21 points, 5.5 assists and two steals during conference play.

Tanner is joined by Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Tennessee’s Ja-Kobi Gillespie, Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Alabama’s Labaron Philon on All-SEC First Team.

Defensively, Tanner earned his spot on the all-conference defensive team with his 2.45 steals per game. The ball pressure Tanner has put on opponents this season has been his best skill on the defensive end of the floor.

Tanner has 76 steals going into the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, just one shy of tying James Strong for the program record for the most steals in the season. At the rate that Tanner is stealing passes at, that record could be broken in Vanderbilt’s quarterfinal matchup in the SEC Tournament Friday afternoon.

Vanderbilt earned a double-bye Saturday with its win over Tennessee in addition to losses from Missouri and Kentucky. It is the first time since the 2011-2012 season that Vanderbilt is the No. 4 seed or higher in the SEC Tournament.

Tanner will look to continue leading his team in the postseason as he hopes to put Vanderbilt in the best position possible for a postseason run at a SEC Tournament Championship and National Championship.