After a fall of official visits, five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. released a top five including Tennessee basketball on Monday afternoon. Rippey’s top group includes Duke, Miami, NC State, Tennessee and Texas, his father confirmed to RTI.
Rippey took official visits to Miami, North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Syracuse, Duke, Tennessee and NC State since August before eliminating Kentucky, North Carolina and Syracuse from contention in his recruitment. The blue-chip point guard officially visited Tennessee in late October for the Vols’ exhibition game against the Blue Devils.
A New Jersey native, Rippey ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 11 player in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to the 247sports composite rankings. He also ranks as the top prep player in New Jersey and the No. 1 point guard in his class.
Rippey is widely considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the 2026 cycle. Tennessee has long targeted the blue-chip guard and is one of the very top contenders to land his commitment though it will be tough sledding to get to the finish line.
More From RTI: Where Tennessee Basketball Ranks In Nov. 17 AP Poll
Tennessee basketball exits the early signing period with three commits including four-star wing Ralph Scott, four-star Manny Green and three-star point guard Marquis Clark.
Rippey is by far Tennessee’s largest remaining recruiting target in the 2026 recruiting cycle. The Vols were also recruiting five-star point guard Miles Sadler but the Canada native committed to West Virginia over Tennessee and a host of other contenders Sunday.
Tennessee loses starting point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie to graduation following this season and needs to recruit a replacement as Rick Barnes and his staff view Clark as a multi-year contributor and not a day one starter. If the Vols don’t land Rippey they could instead look to add a high level point guard via the transfer portal as they did with Gillespie last offseason.
The Vols’ three-commit 2026 recruiting class currently ranks No. 15 nationally and No. 4 in the SEC according to the 247sports team rankings.
