It is not everything, but it surely is something. While the Tennessee Volunteers were unable to get out of the Elite Eight for the third year in a row, the rest of the college basketball world took notice of their star player throughout the NCAA Tournament. That would be guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie. The Greeneville, Tennessee native transferred back to his home state's flagship after spending a season at Maryland.
He was one of the five guys CBS Sports decided to make part of their All-Transfer team for 2025-26.
- Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB Blazers)
- Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (Drake Bulldogs)
- Tennessee Volunteers guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (Maryland Terrapins)
- Wisconsin Badgers guard Nick Boyd (San Diego State Aztecs)
- UConn Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. (Georgia Bulldogs)
Gillespie joined the likes of Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg, Iowa's Bennett Stirtz, Wisconsin's Nick Boyd, and UConn's Silas Demary Jr. on this impressive five. While Gillespie did spend his first two college seasons playing for Belmont in Nashville, he really took his game up a notch after transferring to Maryland, and then coming to play for his home state's team in Tennessee this past college season.
Gillespie averaged 18.4 points, 5.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game this past season for the Vols.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie's success at Tennessee is massive for Rick Barnes
While Rick Barnes does deserve his arrows in some regard for never taking Tennessee to the promised land, he seems to have adapted marvelously to the modern era of college basketball. He could be set in his ways, but Barnes has been a maven in the transfer portal of late, most recently with the overwhelming success of Gillespie. The best player in the game today transferred in Lendeborg.
So where does Barnes and the Tennessee program go from here in the wake of Gillespie having exhausted all of his eligibility? One smart addition for the Vols would be to land former Georgia Bulldogs and California Golden Bears star Jeremiah Wilkinson in the portal. Things hit the fan for Georgia down the stretch under Mike White. Wilkinson exiting stage right could boost Tennessee.
For now, Tennessee needs to continue to build on the last three seasons in the hopes that the Final Four breakthrough is coming here soon. Had it not been for Gillespie's brilliance down the stretch, Tennessee would not have gotten as far in this year's NCAA Tournament. Even if the results in the Elite Eight were mostly the same, the 2025-26 Volunteers were only a No. 6 seed in the Midwest...
At this time, Barnes has to look for his next Gillespie in the transfer portal, knowing he is out there.