There is a new frontcourt name to watch for Tennessee basketball in the transfer portal as Rick Barnes and his staff look to put a roster together largely in the transfer portal.
Tennessee and Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey have mutual interest in one another. The Vols are still in the early stages of their recruitment of Carey and are trying to figure out the fit with the 6-foot-8 power forward. Tennessee is looking to add a power forward to its roster this offseason but has been pursuing stretch four-men to this point.
Carey was an undersized, 6-foot-8 center for Vanderbilt last season where he averaged eight points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Commodores. With centers JP Estrella and and Felix Okpara returning, Carey would mostly play the four-spot for Tennessee.
The Vols have pivoted to stretch four-men who can shoot from the perimeter in recent seasons. Carey made just nine three-pointers last season at a 23% clip.
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While perimeter shooting isn’t Carey’s strength he is an undoubtedly a good player that belongs In the SEC. Transferring from James Madison to Vanderbilt with coach Mark Byington, Carey got better as the season went on and averaged 9.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in SEC play.
Carey was a good SEC starter as a sophomore last season and will have two-to-three years to continue to improve and turn into a potential All-SEC type player.
A Davie, Florida native, Carey ranks as a four-star transfer and the No. 71 player in the portal according to On3 and a four-star transfer and the No. 141 player in the portal according to EvanMiya.
Tennessee basketball currently has six scholarship spots to fill as they fill out a roster for the 2025-26 season. The Vols missed out on Virginia shooting guard Isaac McKneely on Thursday after he visited Tennessee earlier this week.
Maryland point guard transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie is Tennessee’s top transfer portal target while they also are recruiting Robert Morris forward Alvaro Folgueiras and Lincoln Memorial forward Elyjah Freeman.
