BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland men's basketball added an impact player as a late commitment to its Class of 2026 as local standout Tyson Commander will join the program this fall, Head Coach Tavaras Hardy announced.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome Tyson to the Loyola Basketball family," said Hardy. "Adding one of the top guards in Baltimore to an already impressive group of freshmen, solidifies our high expectations for this season and beyond. Tyson is an electric scorer with deep shooting range, but he will also add athleticism, toughness and ball handling to our backcourt. First-Team All-Metro and All-Baltimore Catholic League guys win in college and I'm excited we now have two joining our squad."
 
Commander earned first-team All-Baltimore Catholic League and All-Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) honors in 2022 for John Carroll School where he scored 1,848 points had grabbed nearly 500 rebounds during his career.
 
He led the Patriots to the 2021 Baltimore Catholic League title on what will become his home court, Loyola's Reitz Arena.
 
Commander is the second member of the All-BCL, All-MIAA and Baltimore Sun All-Metro teams to join the Greyhounds' Class of 2026, pairing with Deon Perry from Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School. Commander was originally slated to attend a prep school in 2022-2023, but he reclassified to his traditional year and committed to the Greyhounds, enrolling for the fall semester.
 
He played on the summer basketball circuit for Team Melo in 2020 and 2021 as a member of the program's 15s and 16s teams, and he then joined Durant in 2022 where he was a Peach Jam Stock Riser, helping his side advance to the semifinals of the 2022 tournament.
 
Commander also played a year of football at John Carroll, quarterbacking the junior varsity team to its MIAA title in 2018.
 
With his addition, Hardy and the Greyhounds willsport a five-player Class of 2026: Commander, Perry, Isaiah Alexander (Bronx, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac), Garrett Brennan (Reston, Va./St. Stephen's and St. Agnes) and Samuel Gibbs (Rye, N.Y./Archbishop Stepanic).