Matt Johnson
The Tennessee Volunteers and Rick Barnes have struck gold in the transfer portal in recent years with the likes of Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Felix Okpara and Dalton Knecht. Coming off their third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight, historic NIL investment into the men’s basketball team has culminated in one of the program’s strongest classes ever.
- Tennessee Basketball Transfer Portal Commits: Five
Let’s dive into the 2026 Tennessee college basketball transfer portal class, highlighting each of the arrivals in Knoxville.
Miles Rubin, Center
The Volunteers have prioritized adding guards who can get buckets in the college basketball transfer portal. However, with Okpara graduating, Barnes also recognized the glaring need in the frontcourt. Enter former Loyola Chicago Ramblers center Miles Rubin, who offers plenty of size for Tennessee at 6-foot-10. He’s 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 you exactly what you’d expect from someone with his stature 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 this past season and recorded double-digit rebounds in 10 games. Where he really stands out is with his shot-blocking prowess, having recorded five blocks in three games and three-plus blocks in 36 percent of his starts. The Vols are expected to keep adding to their frontcourt, likely bringing in a player for depth.
Related: Tennessee Volunteers to Spend Massive Sum on Basketball
Dai Dai Ames, Point Guard
One theme with the Tennessee transfer portal class is poaching players coming off breakout seasons. Dai Dai Ames, a 6-foot-1 guard, bounced around early in his collegiate career with Kansas State and Virginia. He found a home this past season at Cal, becoming a full-time starter, and he delivered for the program, with his scoring average skyrocketing (8.7 to 16.6 PPG) compared to the previous season. Ranked by On3.com as a four-star recruit and the 19th-best point guard, he also shores up a need at the point guard position for Tennessee. Of note, ESPN ranks him as the 62nd-best player in the portal.
- Dai Dai Ames 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 FTA per game, 85% FT
Ames proved to be an excellent and reliable scorer for Berkeley, hitting 20-plus 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 nine starts with three-plus treys made, and he also recorded four-plus assists in seven games. The senior will primarily play the role of bucket-getter for Tennessee, with his ability to score from all three levels addressing what Barnes wanted to prioritize this offseason.
Related: Insider Sheds Light on Tennessee’s Approach to Transfer Portal
Tyler Lundblade, Shooting Guard
The first Tennessee commitment from the college basketball transfer portal came at the start of April when former Belmont Bruins guard Tyler Lundblade announced he was headed to Knoxville. The 6-foot-5 guard may potentially be coming off the bench, still playing meaningful minutes in Rick Barnes’ rotation, but he shores up a dire area of need that hurt Tennessee this past season.
- Tyler Lundblade stats (2025-26): 15.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.9 TOG, 43% FG, 3.6 3PM per game, 40.6% 3PT
In the 2025-26 campaign, the Volunteers ranked 296th nationally in three-pointers made per game (6.6), and they placed 208th in three-point shooting percentage (33.4 percent). Lundblade will help in both regards. In his final two seasons at Belmont, he made 219 three-pointers while shooting 43.9 percent from beyond the arc. This past season, he recorded three games with seven three-pointers made and converted on at least five treys in nine contests. Of note, he recorded at least three three-pointers made in 78.1 percent of his games this season.
Read More: Insider Names 2 Standouts from Tennessee Spring Game
Jalen Haralson, Wing
With Tennessee potentially losing forward Nate Ament to the 2026 NBA Draft, the program needed to find a potetial replacement who could play the wing. Enter Jalen Haralson, a 6-foot-7 forward, who hails from the same 2025 recruiting class as Ament and was also a 247 Sports 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 FTA per game, 67.4% FT
In his lone season with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Haralson had the usual bouts of inconsistency you’d expect from a freshman. After averaging 13.1 PPG in his first eight contests, he started to settle in. Haralson averaged 17.5 PPG in Notre Dame’s final 19 contests, posting a 52.7 percent effective field goal percentage. He proved to be a particularly efficient scorer down the stretch, shooting 58.6 percent from the field in his final nine games. He’s expected to start at the three for Tennessee this coming season, providing Barnes with another capable scorer with a high basketball IQ who can win inside the paint with his size; he’s also capable of finding 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 by 247Sports as the 18th-best player in the college basketball transfer portal, while ESPN‘s Jeff Borzello rated him 21st overall in the cycle. Tennessee had long been in the market for a starting point guard for next season to replace Ja’Kobi Gillespie; this move fills that void quite 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 FTA per game, 84.4% FT
Hill, who turned 20 years old in December, was one of the breakout stars in college basketball this past season. He earned the Atlantic 10’s Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player honors, playing an essential role in the team winning the conference and reaching the NCAA Tournament. He also proved he can carry a team, as demonstrated by his 34-point performance in VCU’s first-round upset victory over North Carolina. Hill became the fifth player to commit to Tennessee immediately after visiting Knoxville.
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