For the third year in a row, the Tennessee Volunteers saw their season end at the doorstep of the Final Four. Tennessee has been a regular fixture in the second week of the NCAA Tournament under its iconic head coach Rick Barnes. However, people are starting to grow impatient on if he is going to punch it in from the one-yard line. This is why he has made it a point to dominate in the transfer portal.
Shockingly, Tennessee did not receive the top mark among this spring's transfer portal hauls on On3.
- Louisville Cardinals
- Texas Longhorns
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Miami Hurricanes
- Xavier Musketeers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Missouri Tigers
- Houston Cougars
- Vanderbilt Commodores
Joe Tipton has Louisville, Texas, and Indiana ahead of the Vols when it comes to his portal winners.
NEW: College Basketball Transfer Portal Winners by Additions🏀
— On3 (@On3) May 10, 2026
(via @JoeTipton)https://t.co/tkEmXsALw4 pic.twitter.com/SaUEXv0hoU
For those who need a bit of a refresher, Tennessee's transfer portal class looks like this under Barnes.
- SF Braedan Lue (Kennesaw State Owls)
- PF Miles Rubin (Loyola Ramblers)
- PG Dai Dai Ames (California Golden Bears)
- PG Terrence Hill Jr. (VCU Rams)
- SF Juke Harris (Wake Forest Demon Deacons)
- CG Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame Fighting Irish)
- SG Tyler Lundblade (Belmont Bruins)
With Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris as the headliner, Tennessee is poised to make some noise.
Tennessee Volunteers were shorted regarding their transfer portal class
Although Barnes may have made the difference to get Harris to come to Tennessee over the likes of Michigan and North Carolina, people are still quick to question seemingly everything the Vols do each and every offseason under his guidance. While being top four in the country when it comes to the portal should be a good thing, seeing Louisville, Texas, and Indiana ahead of them is less than ideal...
While Texas got to the Sweet 16 as a First Four participant, Louisville lost in the Round of 32, and Indiana did not even make the field of 68. That does not mean those schools do not have the ability to put together strong portal and recruiting classes, but they are not on the same level as a program as Tennessee has been over the last several years under Barnes. Tennessee always advances in March...
Overall, everybody outside of Knoxville is waiting impatiently for the Volunteers to actually do the thing in the second weekend of the tournament. Barnes is a basketball lifer, but he is no spring chicken either. With this vaunted transfer portal class, Tennessee may be left with no choice in the matter but to advance to the Final Four. This is the year to go all-in, and the Vols seem to have done it.
At this time, Tennessee should gather up bulletin-board material and use every slight as motivation.
Add us as a preferred source on Google