Starting with Cameron Carr’s departure from the program in December and ending with the slew of graduates leaving in the spring, Tennessee Basketball’s roster will look completely different this fall than it did heading into the preseason in 2024.
From a numbers perspective, Tennessee lost eight players, six of whom were on-court contributors for Rick Barnes’ squad this past season. But there are also plenty of marquee names on that list that fans have grown accustomed to over the past few years.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello recently went through more than 90 college basketball programs to get a sense of where each team stands at this point in the offseason.
Tennessee’s list of departures includes Cam Carr (left the program in October), Chaz Lanier (18.0 PPG), Zakai Zeigler (13.6 PPG), Jordan Gainey (11.6 PPG), Igor Milicic Jr. (9.4 PPG), Jahmai Mashack (6.0 PPG), Darlinstone Dubar (3.4 PPG), and Ben Linnemeyer.
The Vols are set to return four players from last season’s roster with returning starter Felix Okpara (7.1 PPG), Cade Phillips (4.6 PPG), Bishop Boswell (0.3 PPG), and JP Estrella, who is expected to return from injury after missing the 2024 season.
Rick Barnes and the Tennessee staff have worked hard to reload the Vols’ roster this offseason. From a recruiting perspective, the Vols added five-star wing Nate Ament, four-star center DeWayne Brown, four-star SG Amari Evans, three-star point guard Troy Henderson, and French combo guard Clarence Massamba.
Tennessee pulled in a great incoming freshman class, with the gem being Ament. The 6-foot-9 prospect currently ranks as the No. 4 overall prospect in the country and expects to be an impact player for the Vols next season.
Tennessee was also very poised with who it targeted in the transfer portal. The Vols will bring in Maryland PG Ja’Kobi Gillespie (14.7 PPG), Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey (8.0 PPG), and Louisiana Tech SG Amaree Abram (12.3 PPG).
The changes haven’t been exclusive to the players, though. Tennessee revamped its coaching staff this offseason with the addition of Amorrow Morgan and Steve McClain after former assistant Rod Clark left to join the Indiana staff.
There is one additional aspect about Tennessee’s roster to note, though. While Borzello didn’t have any Tennessee players in the “In Limbo” section, likely referring to NBA Draft entries, an interesting piece of news did break last week.
Last Tuesday, reports broke that former Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler is suing the NCAA as he seeks an extra year of eligibility in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. While Zeigler has played four seasons on Rocky Top, the former Vol is arguing that the NCAA is causing “irreparable injury” to his financial interests by not allowing him to play in the upcoming 2025-2026 season.
We’ll have to wait and see how things shake out as the Tennessee legend fights his way back to Rocky Top.
To see Jeff Borzello’s extensive college basketball list for ESPN, check out the link here.
