Two months ago, you probably wouldn’t have believed me if I had told you Tennessee would only return two players from last year’s Elite Eight roster, but that’s college basketball in 2026. The Volunteers have three headed to the NBA and several more hit the exits via the transfer portal. Rick Barnes had a plan though, and anyone around the program knew the plan — spend.
Tennessee went all in on Barnes and company this offseason, giving him the financial backing to go build the best roster possible. He did just that, and expectations are already through the roof for what should be one of Barnes’ final few attempts at getting the program over that Elite-Eight hump. Tennessee has never once made a Final Four, and Barnes only has one to his name in 40 years of coaching. His sights are set on changing both numbers next spring.
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Juke Harris is the prize of the class, joining Tennessee after a huge year at Wake Forest. The North Carolina native will take a lead scoring role and very likely become Barnes’ latest portal success story. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by Terrence Hill, who will likely carry the point guard title. Dai Dai Ames is another alpha scorer coming in from Cal, while Tyler Lundblade brings elite shooting in from Belmont.
Former McDonald’s All-American Jalen Haralson is a versatile piece that can play a few different roles at the 3 or 4. Miles Rubin, Braeden Lue and Christian Fermin round out the frontcourt, joining Dewayne Brown. Tennessee also adds 4-star freshmen wings Chris Washington Jr., Ralph Scott, Manny Green and 3-star point guard Marquis Clark. I’d be willing to bet one from that group emerges as a contributor before it’s all said and done.
With summer here, it’s all about putting the puzzle pieces together. Will we see Tennessee find that perfect starting five? Or will Barnes tinker and try different approaches? Probably the latter, but let’s have some fun anyways.
Give us YOUR predictions for Tennessee’s starting five below in the comments and let’s hash this out.
Here’s mine.
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PG: Terrence Hill
SG: Dai Dai Ames
SG: Juke Harris
F: Jalen Haralson
C: Dewayne Brown
Rotation: F Miles Rubin
Rotation: G Tyler Lundblade
Rotation: G Troy Henderson
Rotation: F Braeden Lue
Rotation: F Christian Fermin