2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 19
Record	9–3 (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
No. 11 Vanderbilt	0	–	0	–	12	–	0	1.000
No. 23 Georgia	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
LSU	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
Missouri	0	–	0	–	10	–	3	.769
No. 14 Alabama	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750
No. 18 Arkansas	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750
Oklahoma	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750
No. 19 Tennessee	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750
Texas A&M	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750
Kentucky	0	–	0	–	9	–	4	.692
Texas	0	–	0	–	9	–	4	.692
Auburn	0	–	0	–	8	–	4	.667
No. 22 Florida	0	–	0	–	8	–	4	.667
South Carolina	0	–	0	–	8	–	4	.667
Mississippi State	0	–	0	–	7	–	5	.583
Ole Miss	0	–	0	–	7	–	5	.583

† 2026 SEC tournament winner As of December 23, 2025 Rankings from AP poll

The 2025–26 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represents 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 play 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 men's basketball tournament, held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, they received a double bye to the quarterfinals. There, they defeated Texas, 83–72, to advance to the semifinals, where they secured a 70–65 win over eventual Final Four semifinalist Auburn. In the championship game, they lost to the eventual NCAA champion Florida, 86–77.

Tennessee received a bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. There, they defeated Wofford, 77–62, in the first round, UCLA, 67–58, in the second round, and SEC rival Kentucky, 78–65, in the Sweet Sixteen to advance to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year. Just like in 2024, Tennessee's season once again ended in the Elite Eight with a loss to the eventual runner-up — this time to Houston, 69–50, denying them their first-ever Final Four appearance.^[1]

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, signed with Nanterre 92
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 to Harding
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.^[2]

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Ja'Kobi Gillespie	0	G	6'1"	188	Senior	Greenville, TN	Maryland
Jaylen Carey	23	F	6'8"	267	Junior	Southwest Ranches, FL	Vanderbilt
Amaree Abram	77	G	6'3"	200	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)	188 lb (85 kg)	Sr	Maryland	Greeneville, Tennessee
G	1	Amari Evans	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Overtime Elite	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
G	3	Bishop Boswell	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	204 lb (93 kg)	So	Myers Park High School	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	4	Clarence Massamba	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Fr	Edmentum	Paris, France
F	6	DeWayne Brown II	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	251 lb (114 kg)	Fr	Hoover High School	Hoover, Alabama
G	7	Grant Hurst	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS Sr	UT Martin	Cleveland, Tennessee
F	10	Nate Ament	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Fr	Highland School	Manassas, Virginia
G	11	Gavin Paull (W)	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	So	Westlake High School	Austin, Texas
F	12	Cade Phillips	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	221 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Link Academy	Jacksonville, Alabama
F	13	J. P. Estrella	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	RS So	Brewster Academy	Scarborough, Maine
G	21	Campbell Duncan (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Anderson High School	Austin, Texas
F	23	Jaylen Carey	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	267 lb (121 kg)	Jr	Vanderbilt	Southwest Ranches, Florida
G	24	Troy Henderson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	Fr	John Marshall High School	Richmond, Virginia
F	34	Felix Okpara	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	243 lb (110 kg)	Sr	Ohio State	Lagos, Nigeria
G	35	Ethan Burg	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	199 lb (90 kg)	So	Gymnasia Realit Rishon LeZion	Mishmar HaShiv'a, Israel
G	77	Amaree Abram	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 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	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 26, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 18	No. 6 Duke	L 76–83		19 – Gillespie	10 – Ament	8 – Gillespie	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 18	Mercer	W 76–61	1–0	18 – Ament	10 – Carey	6 – Gillespie	Thompson–Boling Arena (18,559) Knoxville, TN
November 8, 2025* 3:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 18	Northern Kentucky	W 95–56	2–0	23 – Ament	11 – Tied	5 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (18,661) Knoxville, TN
November 12, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 20	North Florida	W 99−66	3−0	23 – Estrella	10 – Estrella	7 – Gillespie	Thompson–Boling Arena (17,614) Knoxville, TN
November 17, 2025* 8:30 p.m., SECN	No. 20	Rice	W 91–66	4–0	20 – Okpara	10 – Ament	8 – Gillespie	Thompson–Boling Arena (17,283) Knoxville, TN
November 20, 2025* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 20	Tennessee State	W 89–60	5–0	17 – Gillespie	8 – Okpara	5 – Gillespie	Thompson–Boling Arena (17,313) Knoxville, TN
November 24, 2025* 1:00 p.m., TNT	No. 17	vs. Rutgers Players Era Festival Game 1	W 85–60	6–0	32 – Gillespie	7 – Tied	4 – Gillespie	MGM Grand Garden Arena (4,628) Paradise, NV
November 25, 2025* 6:00 p.m., TNT	No. 17	vs. No. 3 Houston Players Era Festival Game 2	W 76–73	7–0	22 – Gillespie	7 – Carey	4 – Tied	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
November 26, 2025* 7:00 p.m., TNT	No. 17	vs. Kansas Players Era Festival 3rd place game	L 76–81	7–1	20 – Ament	10 – Carey	4 – Tied	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
December 2, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 13	at Syracuse ACC–SEC Challenge	L 60–62	7–2	22 – Carey	9 – Carey	7 – Gillespie	JMA Wireless Dome (19,657) Syracuse, NY
December 6, 2025* 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 13	vs. No. 14 Illinois Music City Madness	L 62–75	7–3	15 – Gillespie	7 – Tied	5 – Gillespie	Bridgestone Arena (16,157) Nashville, TN
December 16, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 20	No. 11 Louisville	W 83–62	8–3	23 – Gillespie	10 – Carey	5 – Gillespie	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
December 21, 2025* 3:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 20	Gardner–Webb	W 94–52	9–3	15 – Tied	14 – Brown II	9 – Gillespie	Thompson–Boling Arena (19,059) Knoxville, TN
December 30, 2025* 8:00 p.m., SECN		South Carolina State						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
SEC regular season
January 3, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Arkansas						Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR
January 6, 2026 9:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Texas						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 10, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Florida						O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
January 13, 2026 7:00 p.m., SECN		Texas A&M						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 17, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN		Kentucky Rivalry						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 24, 2026 8:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Alabama						Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL
January 27, 2026 7:00 p.m., SECN		at Georgia						Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA
January 31, 2026 8:30 p.m., ESPN		Auburn						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		Ole Miss						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 7, 2026 8:30 p.m., ESPN		at Kentucky Rivalry						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 11, 2026 9:00 p.m., ESPN2/U		at Mississippi State						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
February 14, 2026 6:00 p.m., SECN		LSU						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 18, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN/2/U		Oklahoma						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 21, 2026 2:00/2:30 p.m., ESPN/2		at Vanderbilt Rivalry						Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt University) Nashville, TN
February 24, 2026 9:00 p.m., SECN		at Missouri						Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO
February 28, 2026 6:00/6:30 p.m., ESPN/2		Alabama						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
March 3, 2026 6:00 p.m., SECN		at South Carolina						Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC
March 7, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN/2/U		Vanderbilt Rivalry						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
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.

For the third straight season, the team sold out all 14,500 season tickets.^[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	18	20	20	17	13	20	20	19
Coaches	17	18	17	16	13	20	23	20

References

^ Rothman, Sam (2025-03-30). "Tennessee's season comes to end after losing to Houston in Elite 8". WKRN. Archived from the original on 2025-04-01. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
^ "Zeigler drops bid for 5th year, suit to continue". ESPN.com. July 2, 2025.
^ "Tennessee men's basketball sells out of season tickets for third straight year". wbir.com. August 20, 2025.

[1] Rothman, Sam (2025-03-30). "Tennessee's season comes to end after losing to Houston in Elite 8". WKRN. Archived from the original on 2025-04-01. Retrieved 2025-07-22.

[2] "Zeigler drops bid for 5th year, suit to continue". ESPN.com. July 2, 2025.

[3] "Tennessee men's basketball sells out of season tickets for third straight year". wbir.com. August 20, 2025.

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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 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 2025–26