2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	0–0 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Rick Barnes (11th season);
Associate head coach	Justin Gainey
Assistant coaches	Gregg Polinsky; Amorrow Morgan; Bryan Lentz; Steve McClain;
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena

2025–26 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Alabama	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Arkansas	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Auburn	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Florida	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Georgia	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Kentucky	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
LSU	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Mississippi State	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Missouri	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Oklahoma	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Ole Miss	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
South Carolina	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Texas	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Texas A&M	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Vanderbilt	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–

† 2026 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by eleventh-year head coach Rick Barnes and played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena located in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

Previous season

The Volunteers finished the 2024–25 season 30–8, 12–6 in SEC play to finish in fourth place. As the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Texas in the quarterfinals and Auburn in the semifinals before losing in the championship game to Florida. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Mid-West Region, where they defeated Wofford in the first Round, UCLA in the second round, and sec fellow member Kentucky in the sweet sixteen, to advance to the Elite Eight they were defeated by the eventual runner-up Houston.

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Chaz Lanier	2	G	6'5"	207	Graduate Student	Nashville, TN	Graduated/2025 NBA draft; selected 56th overall by Detroit Pistons
Zakai Zeigler	5	G	5'9"	172	Senior	Long Island, NY	Graduated
Igor Miličić Jr.	7	F	6'10"	225	Senior	Rovinj, Croatia	Graduated/undrafted in 2025 NBA draft; signed with the Philadelphia 76ers
Darlinstone Dubar	8	G	6'6"	220	Graduate Student	Charlotte, NC	Transferred
Jordan Gainey	11	G	6'4"	190	Senior	Tucson, AZ	Graduated
Jahmai Mashack	15	G	6'4"	202	Senior	Fontana, CA	Graduated/2025 NBA draft; selected 59th overall by Memphis Grizzlies
Ben Linnemeyer	35	G	6'6"	205	Freshman	Columbia, MO	Walk-on; transferred
Cameron Carr	43	G	6'6"	189	Sophomore	Eden Prairie, MN	Transferred to Baylor

Zakai Zeigler initially pursued a federal judiciary appeal for an exemption to the NCAA's new eligibility rules in an attempt to play a fifth season of Division I basketball in a five-year span, but withdrew the appeal on July 1, 2025.^[1]

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Ja'Kobi Gillespie	0	G	6'1"	186	Senior	Greenville, TN	Maryland
Jaylen Carey	23	F	6'8"	265	Junior	Davie, FL	Vanderbilt
Amaree Abram	77	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Port Arthur, TX	Louisiana Tech

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Nate Ament #2 SF	Manassas, VA	Highland School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 20, 2025
Nate Ament #2 SF	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (97)
DeWayne Brown #25 C	Birmingham, AL	Hoover High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Apr 20, 2024
DeWayne Brown #25 C	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (83)
Amari Evans #26 SF	Atlanta, GA	Overtime Elite	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 1, 2024
Amari Evans #26 SF	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (83)
Clarence Massamba CG	Monaco	AS Monaco Basket Club	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 30, 2025
Clarence Massamba CG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Troy Henderson PG	Richmond, VA	John Marshall High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Mar 25, 2025
Troy Henderson PG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Roster

2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Ja'Kobi Gillespie	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Maryland	Greeneville, Tennessee
G	1	Amari Evans	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	Fr	Overtime Elite	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
G	3	Bishop Boswell	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	So	Myers Park High School	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	4	Clarence Massamba	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Edmentum	Paris, France
F	6	DeWayne Brown II	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Fr	Hoover High School	Hoover, Alabama
G	7	Grant Hurst	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	RS Sr	UT Martin	Cleveland, Tennessee
F	10	Nate Ament	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Highland School	Manassas, Virginia
G	11	Gavin Paull (W)	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	158 lb (72 kg)	So	Westlake High School	Austin, Texas
F	12	Cade Phillips	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Link Academy	Jacksonville, Alabama
F	13	J. P. Estrella	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	RS So	Brewster Academy	Scarborough, Maine
G	21	Campbell Duncan (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Anderson High School	Austin, Texas
F	23	Jaylen Carey	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Jr	Vanderbilt	Southwest Ranches, Florida
G	24	Troy Henderson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	John Marshall High School	Richmond, Virginia
F	34	Felix Okpara	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Ohio State	Lagos, Nigeria
G	77	Amaree Abram	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Louisiana Tech	Port Arthur, Texas

Head coach

Rick Barnes (Lenoir–Rhyne)

Assistant coach(es)

Justin Gainey (NC State)
Rod Clark (Lindsey Wilson)
Amorrow Morgan (Idaho State)
Bryan Lentz (Lenoir–Rhyne)
Steve McClain (Chadron State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 26, 2025* 7:00 p.m.	Duke	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* TBA	Mercer	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
November 8, 2025* TBA	Northern Kentucky	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
November 12, 2025* TBA	North Florida	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
November 17, 2025* TBA	Rice	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
November 20, 2025* TBA	Tennessee State	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
November 24, 2025* 1:00 p.m., TNT	vs. Rutgers Players Era Festival	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
November 25, 2025* 6:00 p.m., TNT	vs. Houston Players Era Festival	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
November 26/27, 2025* TBA, TNT	vs. TBA Players Era Festival	TBA Paradise, NV
December 2, 2025* TBA	at Syracuse ACC–SEC Challenge	JMA Wireless Dome Syracuse, NY
December 6, 2025* TBA	vs. Illinois Music City Madness	Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
December 16, 2025* TBA	Louisville	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
December 21, 2025* TBA	Gardner–Webb	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
December 30, 2025* TBA	South Carolina State	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
SEC regular season

SEC Tournament
March 11–15, 2026 TBA	vs.	Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP
Coaches

References

^ https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/45637355/zakai-zeigler-drops-5th-season-bid-continue-ncaa-suit

[1] ttps://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/45637355/zakai-zeigler-drops-5th-season-bid-continue-ncaa-suit

[1]

Tennessee Volunteers basketball
Venues	Jefferson Hall (1923–1932) Alumni Memorial Gym (1932–1958) Stokely Athletic Center (1958–1987) Thompson–Boling Arena (1987–present)
Rivalries	Kentucky Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	Gambling scandal "Rocky Top" Smokey
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25