Wake Forest transfer guard Juke Harris commits to Tennessee

Former Wake Forest guard Juke Harris has committed to Tennessee via the NCAA Transfer Portal. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Harris started in all 35 of his appearances for the Demon Deacons last season. He averaged 21.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, while shooting 44.4% from the field and 33.2% from beyond the arc.

For his efforts, he was named the ACC Most Improved Player of the Year and an all-conference second-team selection. As a true freshman in the 2024-25 campaign, Harris only averaged 6.1 points in 19.0 minutes per game.

Harris played high school basketball at Salisbury (NC), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 95 overall player and No. 34 small forward in the 2024 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

Harris chose Tennessee over numerous other suitors in the portal, including Michigan and North Carolina. Harris was the No. 4 overall player and No. 2 shooting guard in On3’s 2026 Transfer Portal Player Rankings.

Tennessee finished the 2025-26 season with a 25-12 overall record. The Volunteers advanced to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season, but the program has yet to reach a Final Four.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes confirmed he is returning for next season. After the Volunteers’ season-ending loss to Michigan, Barnes discussed how Tennessee can finally break through the Elite Eight barrier.

“There’s luck in everything you do,” Barnes said. “But, you look at their guys today, they had a lot of guys that played really good basketball, had good days. It’s hard to have a day where maybe one or two guys are off and get there. At this time of year, your players have to play and step up.

“There’s a lot of different ways to get there. But if you want to break through, you’ve got to get here first. You’ve got to put yourself in position to do that. We’ve been able to get here three years in a row, and it’ll be hard to get back to winning games just in the tournament. … Our goal would be to keep getting back and kicking and hopefully we can knock the door down.”

The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opened on April 7 and closed on April 21. The new 15-day window was enacted following a recommendation by the men’s basketball oversight committee. Athletes did not have to commit to a new school by the April 21 deadline.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.