Four-star shooting guard Jasiah Jervis officially visited Tennessee basketball over the weekend for the Vols’ exhibition matchup against Duke. It was Jervis first visit to Tennessee and the atmosphere for an exhibition game stood out to the blue-chip recruit.
“Just the environment and the fan love. It’s crazy,” Jervis told RTI on Monday. “Getting a chance to see them play against Duke, high level competition. Just seeing how different college basketball is from high school.”
Jervis was a big time riser in the latest round of ranking updates. He ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 35 player in the country in the 247sports composite rankings. Jervis also ranks as the No. 2 shooting guard in his class.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard is one of the Vols’ top remaining targets in the 2026 recruiting cycle. He visited Tennessee over the weekend with one Rick Barnes and the Vols’ top other targets— five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. Playing together was part of the pitch from Tennessee to Jervis.
“Just their guard play,” Jervis said. “They’re going to lose Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate and the other seniors as well. They’re looking for two guards and I was on the visit with Ron Ron (Deron Rippey). They think me and him could be a one-two punch and fit well with their program.”
Tennessee associate head Justin Gainey is the Vols’ lead recruiter for Jervis. While Gainey and the shooting guard already had a strong relationship, the official visit allowed Jervis to get to know head coach Rick Barnes more. The Vols’ track record of player development is also a plus in their favor.
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“It’s definitely great,” Jervis said. “Their strength and conditioning guy, Coach G(arrett Medenwald), he was great to me. That’s very important too. Taking care of your body first and foremost so they have a great program.”
Jervis is a Bronx, New York native as Tennessee looks to land another basketball prospect from New York City. Former Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler has been in contact with Jervis and is helping the Vols in their pursuit of the blue-chip shooting guard.
“He’s a great guy and he performed well playing for Coach Barnes,” Jervis said.
“That they’re going to treat you right,” Jervis said of Zeigler’s message about Tennessee. “That they’re going to do well by you and they want to see you win and help you get to that next level.”
The blue-chip guard is nearing his decision and will announce his college commitment on Nov. 5. He’s down to a top four of Pitt, Michigan State, North Carolina State and Tennessee after taking official visits to all four schools in the last few months.
So what are the most important things to Jervis as he nears a decision? The list includes a number of boxes that Tennessee is able to check.
“Family oriented program,” Jervis said. “A program that is all about winning and help kids develop to that next level but also as a young man. Just life lessons. … They (Tennessee) do all of that. They’re family oriented. Fan love is crazy out here. They want to help you get better and they know the goals of the kids and want to help them succeed.”
