There’s as much excitement surrounding Tennessee basketball this offseason as there has been in a number of years after Rick Barnes and his staff went into the transfer portal and landed a number of highly touted players.
But there’s excitement around the SEC as a number of programs had a strong offseason. After the Big 10 ruled the roost this past season, the SEC looks poised to reclaim its spot as the nation’s premier men’s basketball conference in the upcoming 2026-27 season.
How does Tennessee match up with the rest of the SEC entering the season? Jon Rothstein released a SEC preview podcast on Monday night including power ranking the conference entering next season.
Rothstein predicts Tennessee to finish third in the SEC next season coming in behind Florida and Texas while directly ahead of Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee’s backcourt should be one of the best in the entire country next season. The Vols landed VCU point guard Terrence Hill, Cal combo guard Dai Dai Ames, Wake Forest wing Juke Harris, Notre Dame wing Jalen Haralson and Belmont shooting guard Tyler Lundblade out of the portal which gives the Vols a deep list of reliable scoring options.
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The biggest question about Tennessee’s roster surrounds the front court where the Vols lost Felix Okpara to graduation and let J.P. Estrella, Jaylen Carey and Cade Phillips walk to the transfer portal. Tennessee added Loyola (Chicago) center Miles Rubin, VCU center Christian Fermin and Kennesaw State forward Braedan Lue to its roster to pair with DeWayne Brown.
Rothstein highlighted Rubin as the most important player on Tennessee’s roster as he makes the jump from the A10 to the SEC in his senior season. However, Rothstein also listed Brown as one of five potential breakout players in the conference.
With Tennessee likely to play more small ball next season with Haralson at the four-spot, the Vols will ask Brown and Rubin to anchor the front line.
Rothstein did not include any Tennessee players on his Preseason All-SEC team, instead opting for Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic and Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Reuben Chinyelu.
Tennessee’s SEC schedule includes two meetings with Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Vols will also play home games against Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State and South Carolina. They have additional road trips to Texas, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and LSU.
Rothstein full rankings
*Rothstein explains that LSU’s roster, which has players with uncertain eligibility, is “incomplete” and he does not feel like he can rank them at this time.
- Florida
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- Vanderbilt
- Alabama
- Missouri
- Texas A&M
- Georgia
- Auburn
- Ole Miss
- Oklahoma
- Mississippi State
- South Carolina
Incomplete: LSU
