Reports: PG Braxton Bonds to Walk On for Vols

Donnie is at it again, this time adding point guard Braxton Bonds to the Vols’ roster late in the summer. PHOTO: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The nephew of retired baseball player Barry Bonds, Braxton Bonds, will reportedly be a walk-on player for the Tennessee basketball team this upcoming season.

While no official word from the University of Tennessee has been issued yet, Bonds appears on UT’s student directory, and according to multiple reports, he has been released from his National Letter of Intent from Liberty University and is expected to play for the Vols.

The 6-1 point guard played at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville and was listed as a 3-star prospect and No. 8 player in the state of Tennessee. He had received other scholarship offers from LSU, Middle Tennessee State, Miami (Ohio), and Radford before signing with Liberty.

In order for Bonds to officially join the team, however, something on the Vols’ roster must change. Prior to the 2012-13 season, Tennessee reduced its roster size to 13 scholarship players and 2 walk-on spots. Currently, Galen Campbell and Brandon Lopez are the two walk-ons on Tennessee’s roster, and coach Donnie Tyndall has said they will remain so for the upcoming season.

So where does this leave the Vols? They can either offer Bonds one of the two remaining scholarships they have for the 2014-15 season or make him a walk-on and offer a scholarship to one of the current walk-ons on roster.

Regardless of how they work him onto the roster, Bonds provides immediate aid at a position of need for the Vols. Since Darius Thompson transferred shortly after Donnie Tyndall was hired, the Vols have had a void at the point guard position. It’s unclear how much Bonds will play or what kind of impact he will have, but just having a true point guard on the roster will help moving forward.