After a third-straight appearance in the Elite Eight, Tennessee basketball and Rick Barnes hammered the transfer portal to create a new roster in hopes of finally breaking through to the Final Four. As a result, expectations are high for the Vols in the upcoming 2026-27 season.
While teams are in the process of going through summer practices, we’re getting better looks at what the rosters look like. In response, Jeff Goodman has dropped his preseason SEC rankings. On the list, Tennessee is placed at No. 3 in the conference. That is only behind No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Texas.
The teams behind UT in order are Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Vanderbilt, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Auburn, Oklahoma, Georgia, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
Here’s @GoodmanHoops’ preseason SEC rankings 🔥
Who’s too high and who’s too low? 🤔
🎥: https://t.co/9cXdv2RSye pic.twitter.com/d434Nfkl4O
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) July 14, 2026
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball’s Bracketology Projection is Underwhelming Compared to Other Offseason Rankings
Tennessee returns just two players from last season’s team. After their freshman years, forward DeWayne Brown II and guard Troy Henderson are back and now stepping into leadership positions.
The Vols made some big splashes in the portal, though. This includes bringing in Wake Forest guard Juke Harris, VCU guard Terrence Hill Jr., Cal guard Dai Dai Ames and Notre Dame wing Jalen Haralson, among others. They join a deep freshman class headlined by Alabama decommit Chris Washington Jr.
“I love this time of year,” Barnes said. “I think that when you got a group of guys that wanna be good, I think they embrace it, too. You talk about being forged in fire, you know, you gotta turn it up every day. You gotta get the furnace hot, and you gotta get them to understand what’s coming. We know what’s coming, our schedule, what we have in front of us.
“But yeah, I think they’ve embraced it. We haven’t had any type of attitude situation. Guys are doing what they’re doing, not only out here, but in the weight room, where there’s a lot of team bonding going on there, and just looking out for each other. We’ve got a good group of guys, but we got a long ways to go, like you’d expect this time of year. But up to this point, I would say we’re very pleased with them.”
For an updated look at Tennessee’s summer practices, click here for takeaways and here for highlights.
