Tennessee Basketball is reportedly set to face off against former Vol Jaylen Carey twice next season during SEC competition. This does not include SEC Tournament play, which could potentially result in a third meeting against the former UT forward.
According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein on Monday evening, “Tennessee and Missouri will play each other twice during SEC play during the 2026-2027 college basketball season.”
This report indicates that Carey will return to Knoxville at some point next year.
Carey, a 6-foot-8 native of Southwest Ranches, FL, spent his first two collegiate seasons at James Madison and Vanderbilt before transferring to Tennessee for his junior season. His lone year in Knoxville saw him average 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He played in 37 games for the Vols last year and started in eight.
While Carey had an up-and-down season at Tennessee, he did put together some solid stretches for the Vols during the NCAA Tournament. He scored 10 points in the Vols’ Round of 32 win over Virginia, had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double in a Sweet 16 win over Iowa State, and scored eight points in 15 minutes against Michigan in the Elite Eight. He also had an enforcer role on the court.
Carey had strong moments early in the season, especially in a three-game stretch against Houston, Kansas and Syracuse where he averaged 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. But he also struggled for much of SEC play, including an 11-game stretch where he scored in double figures just once. Carey was an inefficient post scorer, shooting 48.7% from the field and 49.1% from the line.
Following the season, Carey entered the transfer portal and wound up at Dennis Gates’ Missouri program.
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The Tigers are coming off a 20-13 season where they earned a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to Miami in the first round.
While we don’t know the full slate of home and away SEC opponents quite yet, we do know that the Vols’ non-conference slate is beginning to take shape. The Vols have two home games, one away game and at least four neutral site games scheduled against either power five or top-level mid-major programs.
Tennessee will play either three or four games at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. The Vols will face off against Maryland on Nov. 24, one of San Diego State or Iowa State on Nov. 26, and one of Oregon, Louisville, St. John’s, or Texas Tech on Nov. 27. If they win all three games, Tennessee will play a fourth game in the championship of the event on Nov. 28.
The Vols will host also Florida State in the ACC-SEC Challenge on Tuesday, Dec. 1, just a few days after returning home from Las Vegas. Tennessee will then travel to the mid-state to face former assistant coach Justin Gainey and his first NC State time on Sunday, Dec. 6 at Bridgestone Arena. The Vols are back on the road five days later on Friday, Dec. 11, when they face Purdue at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Head coach Rick Barnes said early this offseason that Tennessee will face Michigan State at home in the first game of a home-and-home between the two teams. Neither team has officially announced the game so the date is not yet set.
The Maryland contest during the Players Era tournament will see Tennessee face off against another former player in Bishop Boswell, who transferred to the Terrapins this offseason. Other former players that Tennessee could see in SEC play, depending on how the regular-season schedule and the SEC Tournament slate shake out, include Cade Phillips at Texas A&M and Amari Evans at Texas.
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