By Mya Mimbs
The one question everyone is asking of Tennessee basketball is simple: Is this finally the year? The year Tennessee makes it past the Elite Eight, the year Tennessee makes it past the Final Four, the year Tennessee basketball finally goes all the way and wins it all.
Over the past three years, the Volunteers have found the same level of success: the Elite Eight.
While making it that far in March Madness is nothing to sneeze at, it is also the bare minimum this team can and needs to accomplish this season.
In head coach Rick Barnes’ past 12 years at Tennessee, he has led the team to eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, five Sweet 16 appearances, and 150 weeks in the Top 25 of the Associated Press national poll. But will those records be shattered this season?
Can Barnes finally achieve what he’s been working toward for the past 39 years as a coach: a national championship?
Unfortunately, there is no solid college basketball predicting formula, nor is there a forecast to determine Tennessee’s success this season; however, there are many facts, statistics, attributions and much more that can be used to determine how this completely rebuilt Tennessee basketball team will fare in the 2026-27 season.
So let’s take a look at everything you need to know.
The Transfer Portal
Of the 16 players on Tennessee’s roster from last year, only four remain. After Tennessee’s abysmal 94- 62 loss to the eventual tournament champions, Michigan, many Volunteers entered the transfer portal. Of the seven players who didn’t transfer, three were drafted into the NBA, and four stayed to play another season in orange.
You can’t play basketball with only four players, so out of the 10 portal newcomers, who are some key players Tennessee picked up?
Juke Harris
Barnes calls him an “incredible kid,” and he’s a former Wake Forest Demon Deacon who averaged 21.4 points per game in all 35 games he started and played. He posted the largest scoring increase from 2024-25 to 2025-26 of any player in the country, with an alarming 15.3-point-per-game improvement.
In coming to Rocky Top, Harris has noticed and enjoyed many new aspects.
“The fan base is just super crazy,” said Harris. “I remember I went to the Furman football game, and it took me an hour and a half to walk from here, all the way to the football field. [I was stopped by] people saying they’re so happy that I came here, pictures, and stuff like that.”
Harris’ “No.1 thing he wants to do” is win, and with Barnes’ toughness, detail-oriented style, and faith in him, he plans to do just that.
“It’s a whole new system for him,” said Barnes. “But he’s going to like those guys, and he’s pretty much where those guys were and like those guys who’ll just keep getting better and better as the season goes on”
Harris has already collected preseason first-team All-SEC recognition from the media and voters.
Tyler Lundblade is another valuable player Tennessee picked up in the transfer portal. The sixth-year, 6-foot-5 guard transferred from Belmont University just 2 hours and 45 minutes away from Knoxville.
Lundblade has played for four teams throughout his college career, beginning as a walk-on at SMU. In his past two seasons with Belmont, Lundblade averaged 16.6 points per game and shot over 40% from 3-point range. He will be an essential player for the Volunteers this season, provided he is medically cleared.
Lundblade underwent back surgery in August, and though the surgery was “pretty non-invasive,” it has still limited him in preseason practices.
“I think I’ve seen the game differently,” said Lundblade. “I think it’s helped me kind of gain a different perspective on what we’re doing and allow me, you know, to learn more in a way, maybe I wouldn’t have, had I been on the court.”
There is no clear timeline for when Lundblade will be able to fully participate in practice or play, but his condition is updated regularly.
“He’s getting better. He’s doing okay,” said Barnes.
Another in-state portal pickup is Vanderbilt transfer Jalen Washington. Washington played big man for the Commodores, averaging 8.9 points and finishing No. 10 in SEC total blocks and No. 12 in blocks per game.
Washington was projected to start for the Volunteers, but eligibility issues might hinder that. Initially, Washington was granted a fifth year of eligibility; however, the Tennessee Court of Appeals issued an order staying the injunction that had previously allowed him to play a fifth year, making him ineligible.
“It is a concern,” said Barnes. “I mean, it changes some things with us.”
Washington was supposed to replace former Tennessee player Felix Okpara, but the current court ruling leaves the big-man replacement up in the air.
Although Washington’s role on the court remains undecided, his excitement hasn’t wavered.
“In my mind, I’m able to play,” said Washington. “We’re just taking it day by day.”
Terrence Hill Jr. may not be transferring from within state lines, though he will still be essential to Tennessee’s offense this year. As a transfer from Virginia Commonwealth University, Hill is ready to take on the SEC.
“I just want to accomplish as much as I can,” said Hill. “So just seeing the winning culture, I’m just wanting to challenge myself as well.”
Last year, Hill averaged 15 points per game and made 81 3-pointers, though he plans to increase those numbers slightly. Hill is also the only Division I player in the past 15 seasons to record 500-plus points and 100-plus assists when starting fewer than nine games in a campaign.
The Returners
Tennessee may have picked up some major talent in the transfer portal, but last year’s Volunteers are still eager to get time on the court and leave their mark.
One of those Volunteers is DeWayne Brown II.
“He’s a totally different player. His mindset is different, too,” Barnes said. “I’ve always thought DeWayne was different, darn tough, mentally, because he came in with the group of guys he did last year; he just kept laid in and started competing.”
Brown’s offseason growth and leadership are huge parts of this year’s Tennessee basketball team.
With all five Volunteers starters gone, Barnes is looking to his returners to step in and do what needs to be done on and off the court. Brown has expanded his leadership off the court by being voted vice chair of the SEC Men’s Basketball Leadership Council.
Last year Brown averaged 4.8 points per game as a freshman and played in 35 games, including the last 29. Competing on such a talented roster as a freshman was a challenge, but Brown took it in stride.
“He was the biggest surprise we had last year,” Barnes said. “I can’t imagine what we would do right now without him.”
Barnes’ expectations for the sophomore forward are huge, but Brown’s expectations for himself are equally as high.
“I’m gonna play hard, I’m gonna be aggressive on the rebound,” said Brown. “I’m gonna be a dog defensively.”
As a sophomore on a team full of seniors and fifth-year players, Brown will keep learning and growing from his teammates while also helping develop them.
“I’m gonna just keep getting confidence in myself and in my game and just kind of grow as a leader,” said Brown. “Nothing’s really gonna change for me. I’m gonna do, come out, I’m gonna kind of do my job, do what’s expected of me.”
Brown may be one of last year’s standouts, but he’s not the only one.
Troy Henderson, also a sophomore, is a player Barnes may look to help lead the team to success. Henderson underwent left shoulder surgery in April after battling the injury late in his freshman season.
Barnes said he has “really worked” since returning from injury, but Henderson may be fostering another injury in his right shoulder, so he’ll “have to deal with that all year.”
Henderson may be injury-prone, yet that doesn’t hurt Barnes’ hopes for him.
“He’s more than capable of being a guy that can really impact a game,” said Barnes. “Even if he’s not making shots.”
The Freshmen
Of the new faces added to the Tennessee basketball roster, there are four freshmen.
While he may not originally be from Tennessee, Chris Washington is the only freshman to have lived in the state before coming to Knoxville.
Washington is a four-star, top-60 recruit who is widely considered by 247Sports Composite and Rivals Industry to be the best prospect from a Tennessee high school since 2022. He is hailed as the Division II-A Tennessee Mr. Basketball, a distinguished honor for any high school basketball player.
Washington was recruited by numerous schools but ultimately decided on Tennessee due to Barnes.
“You know, I just felt like this is the best fit for me,” said Washington. “I felt like here was home.”
Many freshmen may feel intimidated coming into such a historic program, but Washington is embracing the challenge. He plans to “be the best version of myself that I can be, doing whatever for the team, in order to win.”
Marquis Clark may not be from Tennessee, but he plans to leave his mark on the program. A three-star recruit widely considered a top-three player from Illinois, Clark has impressed the coaching staff.
“Nobody’s talking about him. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’ll find a way to play this year,” said Barnes. “He’s the typical high school guy who came in, hit the wall, but he’s bounced back, and not afraid to compete.”
Another freshman recruit is Manny Green of Decatur, Ga. Green is considered a four-star recruit and a top-10 player in Georgia. During his high school career, Green amassed 2,101 points and over 1,000 rebounds; his senior season, he averaged 23.7 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Green plays guard and chose Tennessee over many other schools because he believes it will help him change his life and become a better man.
Ralph Scott is another freshman recruit; however, he underwent surgery in September to repair a left knee injury. The surgery will leave him out of action for six to eight months.
Season Expectations
With so many new transfers, talented freshmen, and rising returners, it’s hard not to get excited about this upcoming season. However, Tennessee needs to clean up a few things and make some decisions if it wants to compete at the highest level.
Defense
In basketball, offense and defense are equally important.
“If you go out and you don’t defend the way we want to, it’ll be like Grand Central Station at the scorer’s table,” Barnes said.
You can’t sacrifice one for the other, a lesson Barnes understands all too well.
“Last year was one of our worst defensively we’ve had in what, six years?” said Barnes. “We’re gonna find a way to defend somebody.”
He accepts responsibility for the team’s past defensive defeat and plans to make it right. One of the biggest factors Barnes has been working on with the team is guarding.
“As a group collectively, we have to guard. We have to guard,” said Barnes.
After preseason training and summer practices, Barnes is becoming more confident in the Volunteers’ defense, with many players noting that defense is the team’s main focus.
“Sensing improvement this year, a lot of them, at one time,” said Barnes.
Offense
Historically, the Tennessee offense has always been solid, though this season Barnes has some doubts.
“This team is nowhere near that way,” said Barnes. “Those areas, we’ve got to continue to whirl away.”
Though Barnes may feel uncertain about the team’s offensive power compared to last year, he acknowledges it is his responsibility, and the rest of the coaching staff’s, to fix it.
“That’s our job as coaches, and we gotta teach them how to play things this way; we wanna play it,” said Barnes. “This team’s got the ability to go hard, and it’s up to us as coaches to get them there.”
However, with so many transfer players eager to show out in their orange uniforms, the Volunteers should have no shortage of offensive power and points once Barnes works his coaching magic.
Who’s playing?
“In terms of the rotation and all that, I really don’t have a clue,” Barnes admits.
The rotation and starters are still to be announced, and that’s worrying because the Volunteers play their first game on Nov. 3 against Wofford College. Many injuries and eligibility issues are impacting Barnes’ decision, but nonetheless a decision needs to be made soon.
One of the biggest decisions concerning this roster is the big man position. It was initially supposed to go to Washington, but with his eligibility up in the air, it’s hard to say who will take over.
The Volunteers team is filled with many talented transfer players, though mostly “guard-oriented,” according to Barnes, but fitting them where he wants them is still a puzzle.
“You like to have guys that you know and separate themselves, and you can start thinking about a rotation, kind of, where you’re going to be, but, you know, we haven’t,” said Barnes. “There’s a lot of different ways we can go, but the bottom line is now, they will make that decision for us.”
One thing is certain, though: Barnes isn’t against giving younger players time on the court.
“The easiest, the best way to get on the court for younger players is to play defense, rebound and take care of the basketball,” said Barnes. “You’ve just got to be tough. You guard, you gotta take it to a different level.”
Identity
Although the team’s roster may not be set in stone, the identity is.
“The identity is that, hey, yeah, we like to score quick, but we don’t want you to,” said Barnes. “We like to score as quickly as we can and not play against set defenses, but on the other hand, we don’t want people to do that to us.”
While this identity may seem humorous at first, it is exactly what the Volunteers hope to do this season: score fast and defend hard.
All in all, this team looks pretty solid, and others notice. In the SEC preseason poll, the Volunteers ranked fourth.
This is the seventh year in a row Tennessee has taken a top-four spot in the poll, and the ninth consecutive year it has been voted into the SEC preseason top five.
Tennessee basketball may be ranked high in the preseason, but an entire season remains to be played, and Barnes is still optimistic.
“They have embraced the things that we try to instill from whether it’s maybe breaking some bad habits or creating new habits. They can work hard together,” said Barnes. “We’ve gotten better, but we still got ways to go with this.”
Yes, there will be challenges, and yes, there will be mistakes, but at the end of the day, what team has never encountered a setback?
“You have to understand, first of all, what goes into losing, before they truly understand what goes into winning,” said Barnes.