Tennessee basketball has made back-to-back runs to the Elite 8, and the Vols will hope to make another deep NCAA Tournament run in 2026 with a retooled and revamped roster.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi released his first 2026 NCAA Tournament Bracketology report, giving the Vols a favorable landing spot in next year's tournament.
Lunardi has Tennessee as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. The Vols will have to face the Houston Cougars again if they want to break through to the Final Four next year.
Tennessee is projected to play 14-seed McNeese in its first-round matchup and will face the winner of 6-seed Gonzaga and 11-seed VCU.
Other notable SEC teams in the tournament are 2-seed Kentucky and 4-seed Auburn in the Midwest Region, Alabama as a 6-seed in the East Region, Florida as a 3-seed in the South Region, and 5-seed Arkansas and 8-seed Vanderbilt joining the Vols in the West.
For the first time in the Rick Barnes era, Tennessee's roster will look very different from last year. All but one player who made meaningful contributions to last year's team will be gone and replaced.
Felix Okpara is the only returning starter from last year's team, but that doesn't seem to scare Lunardi into thinking the Vols will drop off much from the last two years.
Tennessee has been a 2-seed in back-to-back seasons and is projected to drop to a 3-seed next year. This could mean the Vols are back to competing with the best teams in the SEC and college basketball.
The Vols should have a bit more depth next year compared to this year when they went seven deep. Barnes has filled the 2025-26 roster with only one scholarship available.
The new-look Vols could be one of the best teams in the SEC again next season, with new playmakers recruited through traditional and transfer portal recruiting.