While Tennessee basketball remains in the mix for plenty of its top recruiting targets in the 2026 class, the Vols are on the outside looking in for one of their recent visitors.
Junior County, a guard who took an unofficial visit on June 13, released a top five schools that didn’t include UT. Instead, he listed UConn, Indiana, Arizona, Purdue and Maryland, according to Joe Tipton.
County ranks as a four-star on 247 and is considered the No. 27 player in the country. He is the No. 2 shooting guard and No. 1 player out of Utah. He plays at Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah.
Tennessee initially offered County on May 22, just prior to him stopping by for his unofficial visit. He was also offered by Cal, where new Vols assistant coach Amorrow Morgan was previously employed.
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It isn’t expected that the Vols bring in a big high school class for the 2026 cycle after there was a large group signing this past offseason. Rick Barnes landed likely one-and-done five-star forward Nate Ament and likely returners in four-star Amari Evans, three-star DeWayne Brown II and unranked Troy Henderson. Tennessee also adds overseas prospects with professional experience in Clarence Massamba and Ethan Burg, who both will have multiple years of eligibility.
Other likely returners include J.P. Estrella, Cade Phillips, Jaylen Carey and Bishop Boswell.
Prospects to watch in this cycle include Gage Mayfield, Sam ‘Deuce’ Simmons Jr. and Junior County, who all have already taken a trip to Knoxville. Miles Sadler also has an official visit scheduled.
While these prospects don’t have visits in the books, Tennessee made the cut for top schools lists for Chris Washington, Latrell Allmond, Taylen Kinney, Bo Ogden and Deron Rippey Jr. These prospects are primarily point guards and athletic wings with good size.
