Tennessee basketball is back at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center Saturday afternoon when they host South Carolina in its final home game of the season. The Vols are taking advantage of their last home game of the season and are hosting a blue-chip recruit in the 2026 recruiting class on an unofficial visit..
Four-star recruit Billy White III is unofficially visiting Tennessee for the SEC matchup, a source told RTI. White ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 49 player in the 2026 recruiting class according to the 247sports composite rankings. The wiry, 6-foot-7, 175-pound wing ranks as the No. 19 small forward in the country and No. 5 junior in the state of Texas.
White is a Corpus Christi, Texas native where he plays high school basketball for his dad at Veterans Memorial High School. The Eagles posted a 39-1 record during the 2024-25 season before losing to West Brook 67-51 in the state semifinals.
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The 6-foot-7 small forward led Veterans Memorial with 18.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game according to MaxPreps. White was efficient scoring the basketball as a junior shooting 59% from the field and 47% from three-point range.
The blue-chip recruit’s weekend visit to Tennessee is his first trip to Knoxville. White has previously taken visits to instate schools TCU, Texas and Texas A&M earlier this winter.
Tennessee basketball is still very early in putting together its 2026 recruiting class. It’s unclear how many scholarships the Vols will have to work with in the 2026 class because of how active they’ll be in the transfer portal this offseason. Center Felix Okpara is currently the only junior on Tennessee’s roster.
Tipoff between Tennessee and South Carolina is at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon with the SEC Network broadcasting the game. The Vols are looking to bounce back from Wednesday night’s loss at Ole Miss. Tennessee can clinch a double-bye in the SEC Tournament with a win over the Gamecocks.
