The 2025-26 college basketball season is officially over with Michigan outlasting UConn to earn the program’s first national championship since 1989. Fittingly, the transfer portal opened shortly after the confetti fell at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as schools across the country turn to next season as they build a new roster.
The transfer portal’s chaos makes it more difficult to project year-to-year success and that is certainly the case for way-too-early top 25 rankings. But there are a number of outlets releasing their way-too-early rankings with Tennessee being included in some while being left out of others.
But Tennessee could easily be in the top 25 next preseason because of the program Rick Barnes has built over the last decade. The Vols have made the Elite Eight each of the last three seasons and made the Sweet 16 the year before that.
Here’s where the Vols land in multiple way-too-early rankings ahead of the 2026-27 season.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Transfer Tracker — Who Is Leaving, Who Is Staying As Portal Officially Open
ESPN
- National rank: “Next in line” – effectively No. 26
- SEC rank: No. 7
- What they said about the Vols: N/A
Yahoo!
- National rank: No. 18
- SEC rank: No. 4
- What they said about the Vols: “The Volunteers made a third straight Elite Eight under Rick Barnes, but are losing a lot of talent. Nate Ament is expected to jump to the NBA Draft despite his up-and-down freshman campaign. Senior starters Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara are gone, and J.P Estrella has announced that he’s entering the transfer portal.Tennessee will look to rising sophomore and former 4-star prospect Amari Evans to take a step forward after his limited action as a freshman reserve. Incoming Belmont sharpshooter Tyler Lundblade (40.6% from 3) signals an early portal win as a graduate transfer. Four-star forward Ralph Scott highlights the nation’s 38th-ranked recruiting class.”
Fox Sports
- National rank: No. 12
- SEC rank: No. 3
- What they said about the Vols: “Rick Barnes’ team enjoyed a memorable run to the Elite Eight this season, but it will be tasked with replacing standout guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and likely Nate Ament, who is projected to be a first-round pick.”
The Athletic
- National rank: No. 25
- SEC rank: No. 6
- What they said about the Vols: “The Vols already signed one of the portal’s best shooters in Tyler Lundblade, who averaged 15.6 points and shot 40.6 percent from 3 this past season for Belmont, the Missouri Valley champions. Usually the best players in the MVC are up-transfer success stories. The loss of JP Estrella is a big one. He had the potential to be one of the best bigs in the SEC. The Vols have some options in-house to take his starting spot — DeWayne Brown, who is undersized as a center, could be that guy — but they likely need to explore the portal market for another big and a starting point guard.”
