chattanooga MOCS

Arrival / Eligibility Status

• • Eligible with three years remaining heading into the 2026-27 season; appeared as a true freshman in 2025-26.
• • Signed with Chattanooga out of Santa Fe Catholic during the early signing period in November 2024.

Chattanooga (2025-26) - Freshman

• • Appeared in 30 of 32 games while making 18 starts as a true freshman; the only two games missed were due to injury, and he finished second on the team in minutes per game (27.5).
• • Finished third on the team in scoring at 9.9 points per game and led the team in rebounding at 4.4 boards per game; added 1.7 assists and 0.7 steals per game.
• • Shot an efficient 45.1% (102-226) FG for the season, 37.9% (53-140) 3FG and 73.6% (39-53) FT.
• • Set a new freshman program record for made threes in a single season with 53, surpassing the previous mark of 50 set by Kevin Easley in 2019; his 140 three-point attempts also marked a freshman UTC record.
• • Scored in double figures 12 different times; posted a season-high 18 points on 6-11 FG during a home win over Mercer on February 5, 2026.
• • Finished with 16 points (6-9 FG, 4-7 3FG) in the Southern Conference Tournament opening-round game against The Citadel on March 6, 2026, adding a season-high eight rebounds.

High School — Santa Fe Catholic (FL)

• • Product of Santa Fe Catholic in Lakeland, Florida; competed with Puma 1 Family (Florida) on the AAU circuit.
• • Scored 1,877 points over a four-year career at Santa Fe Catholic; started and played all 120 games (never missing a game) for an 80-40 record in his high school career.
• • Averaged 15.6 points for his career while shooting 45% FG, 35% 3PT and 85% FT over the four seasons.
• • Scored 739 total points (23.1 per game) during his senior year in 2025, leading Santa Fe Catholic to a Florida 2A State Runner-Up finish, the school's first since 1964.
• • Totaled 34 points on 14-of-22 (63.6%) shooting in the Florida 2A Semifinals and scored 27 points on 11-of-14 (78.6%) shooting in the Florida 2A Championship game.

Personal

• • Father, Linc Darner, is the current head coach of NCAA Division II Tampa University; previously head coach at Green Bay (NCAA DI; 2015-20) and Florida Southern (NCAA DII; 2006-15).
• • Linc led Florida Southern to an NCAA DII National Championship in 2015 behind a 36-1 record, and guided the Mocs to a 219-72 (.753) overall record with six Sunshine State Conference titles over nine seasons.
• • Led Green Bay to the 2016 NCAA Tournament after capturing the Horizon League Tournament title; the Phoenix went 23-13 in 2015-16, finishing 92-80 (.535) overall and 51-39 (.567) in Horizon League play over five seasons.

Coach Dan Earl on Darner

"Tate is an extremely cerebral player that has an elite feel for the game. He is a great shot maker that can play with or without the ball. He comes from a great basketball family and will translate perfectly into our system."

— Head Coach Dan Earl