Tayte Vanderleest logged a 4.5% overall usage rate in 2025.

Tayte Vanderleest is a 6'4", 220-pound wide receiver for Central Michigan wearing jersey 81. A 2023 graduate of Reeths-Puffer High School in Muskegon, Michigan, he joined the Chippewas after earning All-State honors and accumulating 600 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. Vanderleest redshirted in 2023 as a defensive back, then transitioned to wide receiver during spring 2024 drills. In 2025, his redshirt junior season, he appeared in nine of 13 games and finished with two receptions for 19 yards, including an 11-yard long. He earned Academic All-MAC recognition and is returning for the 2026 season.