Tennessee basketball missed out on a four-star in-state recruit in a recruiting battle that took place an hour outside of Knoxville. Four-star power forward Trey Thompson has announced his commitment to Iowa over Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Clemson.
Thompson visited Rocky Top on an official visit on June 7, but that wasn't enough to secure his commitment. An official visit to Iowa on June 23 was enough all it took to lock him down to the struggling Big Ten program less than two weeks later.
He announced on Saturday that he is reclassifying to the 2025 class and will play next season in Iowa. "I have decided to reclassify up to the 2025 class and commit to the University of Iowa. Go Hawkeyes," Thompson said.
— Trey Thompson (@treyyy_2k) July 5, 2025
He's the No. 59 player in the country, the No. 9 power forward, and the No. 2 player in Tennessee, making this a huge loss for the Vols. 247 Sports says he's a prototypical No. 4 with the size and strength to man the paint.
"Physically, Thompson has a strong build and solid vertical athleticism that allowed him to record a total of 22 dunks in just 8 3SSB games this spring," 247 Sports' Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein writes. "He runs hard in the open floor, cuts well off the ball, is a solid area rebounder with good hands, and capable of going into the post at times as well.
"Where he is a bit more limited right now is in terms of his lateral mobility. He doesn't project as especially switchable on the defensive end and will have to prove that he can keep quicker drivers in front of him away from the basket.
"Overall, he projects as a skilled, smart, and dependable player who should be especially good in advanced offensive structure and a reliable team defender who knows how to be in all the right spots."
Iowa has welcomed a new head coach to lead the basketball program after a disappointing 17-16 season last year. Former Drake head coach Ben McCollum has been named the new head coach for the 2025-26 season, replacing Fran McCaffery, who was fired after 15 seasons and a 297-207 record with the Hawkeyes.
This is a significant win for McCollum, as he has successfully recruited Thompson, a top prospect, directly from Tennessee's backyard and brought him on campus for his first year with the program.
Tennessee has the No. 6 composite 2025 recruiting class and No. 13 overall class with five commits, including one five-star commit and two four-star commits, but the Vols currently don't have any players committed to the 2026 recruiting class.