Next Wednesday, the 2026 NBA Draft will be held. The expectation is that three Tennessee basketball stars will hear their names called after the Elite Eight run: Nate Ament, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara.
The Vols are looking to reload and go on another run next year, as well. If things play out as planned, it’d likely lead to more draft picks coming out of UT under Rick Barnes. The top prospect on the roster is Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris.
However, in an early 2027 NBA Draft Top 30 Big Board from KJScouting, Harris was not named. Instead, six other SEC stars were placed, with the majority on the list being freshmen.
Here is my early 2027 NBA Draft Top 30 Big Board. pic.twitter.com/XJdQWOBcD5
— KJ (@KJScouting) May 23, 2026
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Harris is coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 21.4 points on 44.4% shooting from the field and 33.3% shooting from three-point range. He made 87 three-pointers during the year, as well. The Salisbury, North Carolina native earned ACC Most Improved Player and Second Team All-ACC for the standout season.
“Another thing that he did that separated himself from everybody else is he came in and told me how good I was, but he also got on me about some stuff they can see that I need to work on,” Harris said about being recruited by Barnes. “Like turning my body more when I come off screen, turning my body facing the goal.
“Different things that I need to do on the defensive side, fighting over screens, making sure I’m closing out. So they showed me little stuff like that. And I seen some stuff that I needed to work on that I didn’t even know, that they had seen. So I feel like I’ll be more of a complete player going into Tennessee next year.”
He joins a stacked class for Tennessee basketball in the portal, as well. To join returners Dewayne Brown and Troy Henderson, the Vols also landed Belmont guard Tyler Lundblade, Cal guard Dai Dai Ames, Loyola (Chicago) forward Miles Rubin, Notre Dame wing Jalen Haralson, VCU guard Terrance Hill Jr., Kennesaw State forward Braedan Lue and VCU forward Christian Fermin.
