The Tennessee Volunteers and Rick Barnes have struck gold in the transfer portal in recent years with players like Jacoby Gillespie, Felix Okpara and Dalton Knecht. Following their third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight, historic zero investment in the men's basketball team has resulted in one of the program's strongest classes ever.
- Tennessee basketball transfer portal commit: five
Let's dive into the 2026 Tennessee College Basketball Transfer Portal class, highlighting each arrival to Knoxville.
Miles Rubin, center
The Volunteers have prioritized adding guards who can get buckets to the college basketball transfer portal. However, with Okpara graduating, Barnes also recognized a clear need in the frontcourt. Enter former Loyola Chicago Ramblers center Miles Rubin, who provides plenty of size for Tennessee at 6-foot-10. He is the second Chicago native (Dai Dai Ames) coming to Knoxville next season.
- Miles Rubin Stats (2025-26): 11.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.3 bgp, 2.3 apg, 58.5% FG, 54.3% FT
Rubin gives exactly what you expect from someone his size at 205 pounds, earning him a rating as a four-star transfer recruit by 247Sports and the 90th best player in the portal. Rubin recorded a double-double in six starts last season and recorded double-digit rebounds in 10 games. Where he really stands out is with his shot-blocking ability, he has recorded five blocks in three games and more than three blocks in 36 percent of his starts. The Vols are expected to continue adding to their frontcourt, possibly bringing in a player for depth.
RELATED: Tennessee Volunteers to spend big bucks on basketball
Come on Ames, point guard
A theme of the Tennessee transfer portal class is the poaching of players coming off breakout seasons. Dai Dai Ames, a 6-foot-1 guard, bounced early in his collegiate career with Kansas State and Virginia. This past season he found a home at Cal, became a full-time starter and contributed to the program by skyrocketing his scoring average (from 8.7 to 16.6 ppg) compared to the previous season. A four-star recruit and ranked as the 19th best point guard by On3.com, he also shows the need at the point guard position for Tennessee. Worth noting is that ESPN has ranked him as the 62nd best player in the portal.
- Dai Dai AIIMS Stats (2025-26): 16.9 PPG, 2.2 APG, 2.0 RPG, 1.7 TOG, 46.4% FG, 1.6 3PM per game, 37.6% 3PT, 3.5 FTGS per game, 85% FT
Ames proved to be an excellent and reliable scorer for Berkeley, scoring more than 20 points in 11 of 34 contests, with at least 16 points in more than half of his starts. He's a capable shooter from beyond the arc, as evidenced by his three-plus treys in nine starts, and he's also recorded four-plus assists in seven games. The senior will primarily play a bucket-getter role for Tennessee, with Barnes looking to prioritize his ability to score from all three levels this offseason.
RELATED: Insider sheds light on Tennessee's approach to transfer portal
Tyler Lundblad, shooting guard
The first Tennessee commitment from the college basketball transfer portal came in early April when former Belmont Bruins guard Tyler Lundblad announced he was heading to Knoxville. The 6-foot-5 guard could potentially come off the bench, still playing meaningful minutes in Rick Barnes' rotation, but that shores up a serious area of need that hurt Tennessee last season.
- Tyler Lundblad Stats (2025-26): 15.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.9 tog, 43% FG, 3.6 3s per game, 40.6% 3pts
In the 2025–26 campaign, the Volunteers ranked 296th nationally in three-pointers made per game (6.6), and they were 208th in three-point shooting percentage (33.4 percent). Lundblad will help in both cases. In his final two seasons at Belmont, he made 219 three-pointers while shooting 43.9 percent from beyond the arc. Last season, he recorded three games with seven three-pointers and converted at least five threes in nine contests. Worth noting is that he made at least three three-pointers in 78.1 percent of his games this season.
READ MORE: Insider names 2 standout players from the Tennessee Spring Game
Jalen Haralson, wing
With Tennessee potentially losing forward Nate Ament in the 2026 NBA Draft, the program needed to find a potential replacement who could play wing. Enter 6-foot-7 forward Jalen Harrelson, who is from the same 2025 recruiting class as Ament and was also a 247Sports five-star prospect who was rated as the 17th-best player coming out of high school.
- Jalen Haralson Stats (2025-26): 16.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 2.7 TOG, 51.5% FG, 6.7 FTGS per game, 67.4% FT
In his lone season with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Harrelson suffered the usual bouts of inconsistency you'd expect from a freshman player. After averaging 13.1 ppg in his first eight contests, he began to plateau. In Notre Dame's final 19 contests, Harrelson averaged 17.5 ppg and posted a 52.7 percent effective field goal percentage. He proved to be a particularly efficient scorer, shooting 58.6 percent from the field in his final nine games. He is expected to start at the three for Tennessee this upcoming season, giving Barnes another capable scorer with a high basketball IQ who can win inside the paint with his size; He is also able to find shots for others on the floor.
Read more: Tennessee Volunteers confident they can flip 5-star recruit
Terrence Hill Jr., guard
On Sunday, former VCU Rams guard Terrence Hill Jr. committed to join the Tennessee Volunteers next season. He was rated as the 18th-best player in the college basketball transfer portal by 247Sports, while ESPN's Jeff Borzello rated him 21st overall in the cycle. Tennessee had long been looking for a starting point guard to replace Ja'Coby Gillespie for next season; This move fills that void very nicely.
- Terrence Hill Jr. Stats (2025-26): 15 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.7 RPG, 1.1 TOG, 46.6% FG, 2.3 3PM per game, 37% 3PT, 3.8 FTG per game, 84.4% FT
Hill, who turned 20 in December, was one of the breakout stars in college basketball last season. He played a key role in the team winning the conference and reaching the NCAA Tournament, earning Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player honors. He also proved he can carry a team, as evidenced by his 34-point performance in VCU's first-round upset win over North Carolina. Hill became the fifth player to commit to Tennessee shortly after visiting Knoxville.
read more:ESPN analyst offers insight on Volunteers QB battle
