Tennessee has been on a tear while building its 2026-2027 roster through the transfer portal over the last two weeks. But the biggest splash came on Sunday morning as the Vols received a commitment from star guard Terrence Hill Jr., who joins Tennessee after two seasons at VCU. Hill is one of the top guards in the portal and ranks as ESPN’s No. 21 overall portal player.
There was a lot for Tennessee fans to be excited about before Hill’s commitment on Saturday. You look at the names that the Vols have brought in – Dai Dai Ames, Miles Rubin, Jalen Haralson, Tyler Lundblade – and there’s plenty of reason to start getting the wheels turning on the potential of next year’s team. But when you add Hill into the mix, those thoughts only go into overdrive. The players will still have to figure out how to mesh on the court, but everything looks rock solid on paper so far.
Before committing to Tennessee, Hill saw the exact same thing that’s been getting Vol fans amped up over the last two weeks: A reloaded, talented roster. He spoke about how the projected lineup impacted and ultimately swayed him into choosing Tennessee.
“Obviously, the culture behind Tennessee, amazing culture,” Hill said about why he picked Tennessee during an interview on The RTI Low-Down on Sunday. “From a basketball standpoint and a football standpoint. But just seeing the roster, like you guys talked about, with all those guys that committed early and the ways they can impact the game, I feel like they can help my game grow and I can help their game grow as well.”
With all the talent coming in, it’ll take some leadership to get all of these new pieces on the same page. But Hill believes that he can be the guy to “lead the ship.”
“I feel like when you get in those tough games, you’ve got to have a team with you that can score the basketball and make big shots in those big games, and I feel like I was the guard that they needed just to lead the ship,” Hill said. “But just having great conversations with Coach Barnes and the staff of, we’re going to put guys around you just to make it easier for you to be the player I am.”
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Holds No. 2-Ranked Incoming Class Between Transfers and Recruits
Tennessee now has five incoming transfer portal players, all of whom are touted as four-star transfer prospects. Additionally, all five players are ranked in the Top 103 of On3’s transfer portal rankings: G Dai Dai Ames (No. 103), PF Miles Rubin (No. 94), SG Tyler Lundblade (No. 76), SF Jalen Haralson (No. 40), and G Terrence Hill Jr. (No. 24). Combine that with returners DeWayne Brown and Troy Henderson, plus a high school recruiting class that includes three four-star players and one three-star player, and you’ve got a roster that Tennessee fans can dream up possibilities for over the next handful of months.
“So, yeah, I would say the biggest impact was having guys on that roster, on that depth chart, that I believe in and I can go with down the stretch,” Hill said.
Hill entered the portal after putting his name on the map in a big way during a breakout season with VCU. He averaged 15.0 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game, while playing in 36 games. He shot the ball at 46.6% from the floor and 37.0% from three-point range.
