Vanderbilt PG Tyler Tanner is playing at an All-American level

Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner is a problem. Kentucky will be tasked with trying to solve him tonight (9:00 p.m. ET | ESPN) in Nashville.

Tanner has been among the most improved players in all of college basketball this season. A native of nearby Brentwood, TN, the 6-foot-flat floor general came off the bench last season as a freshman under new head coach Mark Byington. The lone remaining holdover from the Jerry Stackhouse era, Tanner averaged 5.7 points in 20.4 minutes per outing off the pine in 2024-25.

But he’s turned into a full-on superstar as a sophomore in 2025-26, one who is seeing his name pop up on NBA Draft boards more and more often despite being an undersized point guard.

Through 20 games played this season for No. 18 Vanderbilt (17-3), Tanner is averaging 17.4 points, 5.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 steals in 30.8 minutes per contest while shooting 49.8 percent from the field, 40.2 percent from deep, and 87.8 percent from the line. His shooting numbers have dipped a bit in SEC play, but he’s still posting 20 points and six assists per game against league foes.

Tanner has eight games with 20 or more points this season. His career-high 29 points came a few weeks ago in a home win over Alabama. His career-high 14 assists (tying a school record) came in the very next game. His lack of overwhelming height hasn’t made him a minus on defense either. If anything, he’s become a college basketball anomaly for someone his size.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Tanner is one of the best players in the country right now. But Kentucky head coach Mark Pope will have options to throw at him. Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, and Collin Chandler could all take turns matching up against the smaller Tanner — not to mention Duke Miles, who has quietly been putting up impressive numbers next to Tanner in the Vandy backcourt. Those three Wildcats have the size to handle Tanner, but keeping up with his pace could prove to be the bigger challenge.

Tanner isn’t a world-beater, though. Before destroying Mississippi State over the weekend by 28 points, Vanderbilt dropped three straight games, including an 11-point showing for Tanner in a blowout loss to Arkansas. Per CBB Analytics, the Commodores have posted a -2 across 244 minutes against SEC teams with Tanner on the floor. Kentucky will try to keep that number in the negatives by the end of the night.

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