NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt basketball star Tyler Tanner is back for a third year on West End despite an extensive push to stay in the NBA Draft, and Vanderbilt basketball is a real factor in the SEC as a result. Tanner averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5% from the field as well as 36.8% from 3-point range. He was Vanderbilt’s leading scorer and started to draw buzz in regard to the NBA Draft as Vanderbilt began conference play. As a result of his return, Tanner will also have an opportunity to advance his legacy as one of the most accomplished Vanderbilt basketball players of all time. He’s already earned All-SEC honors and has been to the NCAA Tournament twice in his two seasons on West End. Now, he’ll lead Mark Byington’s Vanderbilt program on a quest to make the second weekend for the first time since the 2007 season. The program will go as far as he can take it. If he can make it to the tournament again, he'd be one of just two players in program history to go to the tournament in all three of his seasons as a Vanderbilt player. Vandy on SI provided in-depth, exclusive coverage of Tanner’s rise from the time Vanderbilt’s players arrived on campus for summer workouts through his Wednesday announcement. Here’s the best of the Tanner coverage from the 2025-26 season, in which he made his name as one of the best point guards in the country. Exclusive: A full-length feature on the magnitude of Tanner’s stardom and how he’s handling the responsibility of it:https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/tyler-tanner-knows-stardom-has-responsibility-he-s-handling-it-with-intentionExclusive: Meet the man who has trained Tanner since Tanner was an elementary schooler–full length feature:https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/meet-spencer-richardson-the-man-behind-tyler-tanner-s-remarkable-developmentExclusive: Inside the moment in which the country discovered Tanner was one of the best point guards in all of college basketball: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/let-s-face-it-tyler-tanner-is-one-of-america-s-best-point-guards-columnColumn: How Tanner’s return could lead Vanderbilt to its best roster of the Mark Byington era: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/the-offseason-possibilities-are-endless-for-vanderbilt-basketball-and-mark-byington-column-Exclusive: Inside Tanner’s missed buzzer beater against Nebraska and how it will haunt him forever: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/it-s-probably-going-to-haunt-me-forever-inside-tyler-tanner-s-gut-wrenching-miss-at-the-buzzerExclusive: Inside Tanner’s legendary March Madness performance against McNeese: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/inside-tyler-tanner-s-legendary-march-madness-performance-in-vanderbilt-s-win-over-mcneeseIntel: Reporting on Tanner becoming the highest-paid player in Vanderbilt basketball history: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/vanderbilt-basketball-intel-tyler-tanner-state-of-the-union-portal-chad-myers-roleExclusive: How Tanner approached the NBA Draft process: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/exclusive-inside-tyler-tanner-s-mind-with-nba-decision-looming-and-vanderbilt-in-ncaa-tournamentTanner’s reaction to winning All-SEC honors and how his story has been amplified: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/tyler-tanner-talks-earning-all-conference-honorsInside Tanner’s standout performance in Vanderbilt’s historic road win over Tennessee: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/how-tyler-tanner-propelled-vanderbilt-basketball-to-tennessee-road-winExclusive: How Tanner became dynamic playing out of the hedge: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/vanderbilt-basketball-notebook-tanner-s-magic-frankie-collins-update-the-turning-pointOn Tanner sharing his testimony at Vanderbilt’s Come As You Are event: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/football/spiritual-movement-inside-vanderbilt-athletics-public-embrace-of-come-as-you-are-eventExclusive: Inside Tanner’s leap and why Vanderbilt expected it in the preseason: https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/inside-tyler-tanner-s-path-to-a-second-year-jump-for-vanderbilt-basketballFollow us on Twitter/X,Facebook,YouTube,Instagram,ThreadsandBlue Skyfor the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow