Tennessee will have a new-look basketball team when it hits the court for the first time in the regular season this fall.
But while the Vols lost household names such as Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, and Jahmai Mashack, Rick Barnes and his staff have done a good job at reloading and rebuilding to make another NCAA Tournament in 2026.
In addition to star Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie, one of the top impact newcomers that Vol fans will immediately be impressed by is true freshman Nate Ament. The 6-foot-9 freshman is an ultra-talented college rookie and has a chance to shine with his offensive versatility, playmaking skills, and defensive length on the court.
“Ja’Kobi Gillespie was one of the best point guards in the portal, but Tennessee’s offensive improvement over the past two seasons has coincided with the Vols bringing in two high-level wings in Dalton Knecht and then Chaz Lanier,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote about the Vols this week. “Can Ament produce at that rate as a freshman? He’s a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA draft, and his size and shotmaking give him an incredibly high ceiling.”
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ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is high on the Vols – or, at least the Vols’ ceiling heading into next season. In his latest way-too-early Bracketology projections, Lunardi tagged Tennessee as a 2-seed in the West region, implying that he thinks Barnes’ squad will be one of the top eight teams to finish the regular season.
Borzello, though, has a bit more of a reserved opinion. In a way-too-early Top 25 rankings list for ESPN on Monday, Borzello slotted Tennessee in as the No. 23 team in the country. Perhaps the difference is that Lunardi’s rankings are projecting end-of-year success, while Borzello’s list is reserved for what the teams will look like at the start of the year.
That’s not too startling, though. While Tennessee did bring in and return some nice pieces to the roster this season, it’s not far-fetched to realize that it’ll take some time for those players to mesh early in the season, giving Tennessee some time to rise up the rankings throughout the season.
Tennessee’s projected five only includes one returning starter, Felix Okpara, though Cade Phillips and a returning-from-injury JP Estrella will be nice players in the frontcourt to rotate in or potentially start. The other four projected starters include Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Louisiana Tech transfer Amaree Abram, true freshman Nate Ament, and Vanderbilt transfer Jaylen Carey.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee basketball offseason news, including Rocky Top Insider’s first summer practice observations from June.
