The name of the game is offensive firepower for Tennessee Basketball’s retooled roster. The Vols added eight new players from the transfer portal this offseason, plus four more from the high school circuit, to make what projects as a high-scoring group on Rocky Top.
The Vols signed six Top 100 players from 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings, including Juke Harris (No. 8), Terrence Hill Jr. (No. 19), Jalen Haralson (No. 25), Dai Dai Ames (No. 53), Tyler Lundblade (No. 59), and Miles Rubin (No. 95). Five of Tennessee’s incoming portal players averaged 15.0 points or more per game last season at their previous schools.
While it’s a lot to put together in one offseason, optimism is high on Rocky Top about the potential this team can reach. The Vols have reached three straight Elite Eights, but have yet to crack through to the Final Four.
NCAA Digital Reporter Andy Katz is among those with high expectations for Tennessee’s new group. Katz released his Power 44 list on Thursday, with Tennessee landing as the No. 5 team in the nation. The Vols are the second-highest team from the SEC on the list, trailing No. 1 Florida.
Other notable SEC squads include No. 8 Texas, No. 9 Vanderbilt, No. 11 Arkansas, No. 16 Alabama, No. 26 Missouri, No. 32 Texas A&M, No. 34 Auburn, No. 39 Kentucky, and No. 39 Ole Miss.
Michigan, the team that beat Tennessee in the Elite Eight and J.P. Estrella’s new team out of the portal, comes in at No. 3 on the list.
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Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes spoke about UT’s transfer portal mindset during a recent episode of The RTI Low-Down with Bob Baskerville and Chris Low:
“This year we knew that we wanted more offense,” Barnes said. “We didn’t want to really rely on two or three guys. We felt like we needed to get some guys that, as it gets down to the end of the shot clock – what it really gets down to, we don’t want to coach these guys on every play. We don’t. We want some guys that can go create offense, some guys that can break down defenses for you, and get things done. We’ve never been a staff that wants to joystick the game. We like to teach basketball, we want to see flow on dead balls. You certainly have a chance to call guys numbers, those type things within the flow of the game. We wanted to be more lethal, and set out knowing it.”
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Basketball coverage.
🚨 NEW #Power44 from @TheAndyKatz following the May 27th NBA Draft withdrawal deadline 👇
1. Florida
2. Duke
3. Michigan
4. Illinois
5. Tennessee
6. UConn
7. Michigan State
8. Texas
9. Vanderbilt
10. Louisville pic.twitter.com/s6HrtOcbzB— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 28, 2026
