Tennessee already has a Transfer Portal commitment -- before the portal is open

The transfer portal doesn’t officially open until Tuesday, April 7; however, one of Kentucky’s rivals already has a transfer portal commitment. Huh?

Belmont transfer guard Tyler Lundblade committed to Tennessee yesterday after a visit to Knoxville. If you’re wondering how in the world that is possible, Lundblade is a graduate transfer, meaning he doesn’t have to wait until the portal opens to contact schools, take visits, or even commit. He started his career as a walk-on at SMU before transferring to TCU as a walk-on. After two seasons with the Horned Frogs, he transferred to Belmont and eventually earned a scholarship. This season, Lundblade earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors after leading the Bruins to the MVC regular-season championship, averaging 15.6 points per game on 43.0% from the field, 40.6% from 3-point range, and 93.4% from the free-throw line. That last figure ranks No. 1 in the country.

Lundblade is a high-volume shooter, averaging 3.6 made threes per 8.8 attempts per game. Last season, he led the nation in three-point shooting percentage, at 48.1%. He also set the Belmont school record for made threes with 104. This season, he broke his own record, totaling 115 made threes.

Tennessee needs that shooting. The Vols once again came up short of the Final Four, losing in the Elite Eight for the third year in a row. Tennessee ranked 14th in the SEC this season in made three-pointers (243) and 11th in three-point shooting percentage (33.4%). Ja’Kobi Gillespie, the Vols’ best three-point shooter, is out of eligibility, and Nate Ament, their next best shooter, is expected to declare for the NBA Draft.

Tennessee is off to a hot start, thanks to the graduate transfer loophole. Kentucky already has some irons in the fire in the backchannels, but the real chaos will begin on Tuesday when the portal opens. Last night, Jacob Polacheck shared some names to monitor on KSR+, yet another reason to hop on board and maximize your coverage.

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