Tennessee basketball has officially added to its roster ahead of the 2025-26 season. Israeli shooting guard Ethan Burg committed to Tennessee Friday, he announced on social media.
Burg visited Tennessee basketball from Saturday, June 28 to Monday, June 30 as the Vols continued to explore shooting guard options to add to its roster. The guard applied for NCAA eligibility following his visit. The NCAA has since approved his eligibility though it’s currently unclear how many years of eligibility they will grant Burg.
Tennessee expects Burg to have multiple years of eligibility but the final process is still pending with the Vols hoping to know for certain next week.
Burg is a 22-year old who turns 23 in September. The 6-foot-3 guard spent two years serving in the Israeli military before playing two professional season with Bnei Herzeliya in the Ligat Winner League in Israel. Those two professional seasons are what forced Burg to apply to the NCAA for eligibility and why he likely won’t receive a full four years.
During the 2024-25 season, Burg averaged 11.1 points on 45% from the field, 38% from three-point range and 80% from the foul line. Playing in 24 games, the 6-foot-3 guard made 1.6 three pointers per game. He also averaged 3.4 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game.
Burg posted similar numbers during the 2023-24 season, averaging 10.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He was less efficient shooting the ball, making 42% of his shots from the field and 29% from three-point range.
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Tennessee’s newest commit is a combo guard who can play both point guard and shooting guard. However, there’s a clearer path to playing time at shooting guard at Tennessee next season.
Maryland point guard transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie is a proven power five conference, averaging 14.7 points and 4.8 assists per game on his way to earning All-Big 10 honors. Freshman point guard Troy Henderson has also impressed in practice this summer and has emerged as a legitimate combo guard option for the Vols next season.
Tennessee has brought in a handful of shooting guard options including Louisiana Tech transfer Amaree Abram, four-star freshman Amari Evans and French prep prospect Clarence Massamba. The Vols also return rising sophomore combo guard Bishop Boswell.
Burg will compete with that group, as well as Henderson, for playing time in Tennessee’s backcourt between Gillespie and five-star freshman wing Nate Ament.
Tennessee now has a full roster for next season with 15 players on scholarships. Former walk-ons Grant Hurst and Campbell Duncan are now on scholarship along with Gillespie, Henderson, Boswell, Burg, Abram, Evans, Massamba, Ament, DeWayne Brown, Jaylen Carey, Cade Phillips, JP Estrella and Felix Okpara.
