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Tennessee basketball’s 2025 season came to a close on Sunday at the hands of 1-seed Houston. With Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Chaz Lanier heading out the door, the Vols will turn to the transfer portal to reload.
Of course, there’s a lot to address. The Vols will be without the following scholarship players in 2025-26:
- Zakai Zeigler, PG: 13.6 points per game (ppg), 7.4 assists per game (apg). 2x SEC Defensive Player of the Year. All-time program leader in assists and steals.
- Chaz Lanier, G: 18 ppg, Tennessee’s all-time single-season leader in 3-pt FGs made (123).
- Jahmai Mashack, G/F: 6 ppg, 1.7 steals per game (spg), finalist for 2025 DPOY.
- Igor Milicic, F: 9.7 ppg, 6.7 rebounds per game (rpg)
- Jordan Gainey, SG: 11.6 ppg, 1 spg. Among the best 6th men in the country.
- Darlinstone Dubar: 3.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg. Bench piece.
The NCAA v. House settlement hearing is slated for April 7, which has the potential to be a massive day for the future of college athletics — and Tennessee basketball. It is possible that a 5th year will be granted to all collegiate players beginning in 2025. Nothing is set in stone and it’s unlikely — though technically possible — a 5th year will be approved during this hearing.
Because the upcoming hearing is such a wildcard, I’ll assume none of the 6 players mentioned above are returning for a 5th season. Rick Barnes and Tennessee have to attack the transfer portal as such, so we’ll follow suit in attempting to lay out Tennessee’s offseason plan.
Which Needs Will Tennessee Address This Offseason?
As you can probably tell, there’s a lot of work to be done.
Assuming no projected returner enters the transfer portal, Tennessee’s roster next season will look like this: Felix Okpara, Cade Phillips, JP Estrella, Bishop Boswell, Amari Evans, Troy Henderson and DeWayne Brown. The Vols have 6 scholarship spots to work with.
The Vols won’t necessarily have to attack the portal for all 6 spots, though. Tennessee is still very much in the race for incoming freshman 5-star CG Brayden Burries and, to a lesser extent, 5-star PF Nate Ament.
Tennessee loses effectively all of its production in the backcourt this offseason. Bishop Boswell is projected to be the lone returner, and he saw a very minor role in Year 1. Boswell is promising on defense and, assuming he doesn’t transfer, he’ll likely carve out a reserve role slightly expanded from this past season. Amari Evans — a 4-star incoming freshman guard who excels on defense — could realistically contribute to Tennessee’s backcourt in Year 1.
Expect Tennessee to target at least 1 point guard in the portal, perhaps even a pair. We’ll go over a few names to watch out for in the next section.
Forward Cade Phillips will play a lot of good basketball in coming years, but he’s limited on offense and not a threat from range. Tennessee struggled to score consistently within the 3-point arc in 2025, so expect the Vols to emphasize targeting a scoring threat at the 4-spot with Igor Milicic out the door.
Finally, look for the Vols to target a high-volume scoring threat similar to the roles Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier filled across the past 2 seasons. Ideally this player would shoot at a strong clip from range and possess the ability to create his own shot when UT needs a bucket.
Names to Watch for Tennessee in the Transfer Portal
Now comes the fun part. Who is on Tennessee’s radar entering the month of April?
Here’s a rundown of some of the top names to keep an eye on.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie — PG, Maryland
Ja’ Kobi Gillespie is one of the best players in the transfer portal, and he’s a major target for a Tennessee team post Zakai Zeigler.
It’ll be tough to replace Zeigler’s production, but Gillespie offers a fantastic place to start. The Greeneville, Tennessee, native received third-team All-Big Ten honors and averaged 14.7 points and 4.8 assists per game. He’s a solid defender, a 40% 3-point shooter and had full control over what was one of the best teams in the Big Ten.
Gillespie has 1 season (perhaps 2) of college basketball remaining after starting his first 2 years at Belmont in Nashville. He spent the past season at Maryland and now departs following head coach Kevin Willard’s flight to Villanova.
Tennessee has received several predictions to land Gillespie.
Isaac McKneely — SG/SF, Virginia
Virginia used G/F Isaac McKneely precisely how Tennessee used Chaz Lanier. For that reason, it’s no surprise Tennessee is an early frontrunner for the sharpshooter out of Poca, West Virginia.
McKneely was one of the best 3-point shooters in the ACC in 2025, right there with Louisville’s Reyne Smith and Duke’s Kon Knueppel. Only Smith (71) made more threes than McKneely (64) in conference play, and the 6-4 Cavs guard made a total of 101 at a 42.1% clip by season’s end.
The former Virginia guard took an official visit to Tennessee over the weekend and is thought to be considering both Tennessee and Louisville. It’s worth noting the Cardinals recently added transfer Ryan Conwell out of Xavier, who plays a very similar role.
Elyjah Freeman — F, Lincoln Memorial (D2)
Elyjah Freeman is a hyper athletic, 6-8 forward out of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, which competes at the D2 level.
Freeman’s numbers at LMU are startling: 18.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2.7 assists per game, shooting 59% from the field and 45% from range. It’s uncertain how these numbers will translate to the SEC, but it’s hard to think Freeman won’t be a starting-caliber player wherever he ends up.
Freeman is practically teleporting to the basket in some of these clips:
Sebastian Mack — G, UCLA
According to 247Sports’ Tobias Bass, Tennessee and UCLA transfer Sebastian Mack have set up a Zoom meeting to discuss a potential fit in the Orange and White.
Mack is a defense-first guard who averaged 9.6 points per game despite averaging just 20.9 minutes per game as a sophomore for the Bruins. The 6-3 shooting guard has a knack for drawing fouls, averaging 5.8 fouls per 40 minutes across 2025 according to KenPom. In my view, Mack is absolutely a Barnes-type player and would likely fill a Jordan Gainey-type role if he were to choose Tennessee.
A commitment from Mack one way or another (Oklahoma and Michigan are also involved) is unlikely to be made soon.
Alvaro Folgueiras — F/C, Robert Morris
Alvaro Folgueiras would fill an Igor Milicic-type role for Tennessee, but there are plenty of schools interested in the 6-9 big man out of Robert Morris, including an SEC rival.
Folgueiras averaged 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds for RMU last season, leading the Colonels to the NCAA Tournament where they fought valiantly against 2-seed Alabama before falling 90-81. He finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss.
Kentucky is thought to be heavily involved here, with a Zoom meeting confirmed by KSR’s Jacob Polacheck. Tennessee and a few other schools are expected to make a push as well, but Folgueiras’s commitment may be Kentucky’s to lose.
Other names to monitor
- Donovan Atwell, G/F from UNC Greensboro
- Budd Clark, PG from Merrimack
- Lamar Wilkerson, G from Sam Houston St.
- MJ Collins, G from Vanderbilt
- Jacob Cofie, F from Virginia
- Rodney Rice, G from Maryland
- Alex Steen, F from Florida Southern (D2)
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
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