Tennessee forward transfer J.P. Estrella commits to Michigan basketball

Tennessee forward transfer J.P. Estrella has committed to Michigan Wolverines basketball, according to Volquest.

The 6-foot-11, 240-pounder spent three seasons at Tennessee and has two years of eligibility remaining since he redshirted due to injury as a sophomore in 2024-25.

Estrella is the No. 36 overall player and No. 7 power forward in the NCAA transfer portal, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

The Scarborough, Maine, native averaged 10 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game while appearing in 33 contests with 13 starts for the Volunteers in 2025-26.

Tennessee made the Elite Eight in Chicago and was blown out by Michigan, 95-62. The Wolverines ultimately won the national championship in their second season under head coach Dusty May.

The Volunteers had one of the best front courts in the country, and Estrella ended the season as the starting center on it. He shot 60.4 percent on twos (136-of-225) and 4-of-10 from three-point distance.

Estrella is one of the top offensive rebounders in the country, with a 17.3-percent offensive rebounding rate that ranks eighth nationally. Estrella saw 23.8 percent of his field goal attempts come in put-back situations, converting on 67.9 percent of those looks.

Estrella led Tennessee with 4 shots at the rim per game, finishing 65.1 percent of them. He also shot 53.7 percent on other in-the-paint jumpers (2 attempts per game) and 53.8 percent on mid-range twos (0.8 attempts per game).

Not an elite rim protector, Estrella averaged 0.4 blocks per game last season. Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said in February that he wanted Estrella to improve on the defensive end.

“He’s got to be better defensively,” Barnes said. “I think he’s really settled in offensively, but he’s still defensively, (LSU) went at him a couple times. And he’s got to stay in front and make people play over the top of him or through him. He’s giving up too many angles.”

Estrella suffered a season-ending foot injury after just three games in 2024-25 and was granted a medical hardship waiver.

As a freshman in 2023-24, Estrella recorded 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds in 5 minutes per game with 25 appearances, deep in the rotation.

A four-star recruit in the 2023 class, Estrella checked in as the No. 59 overall player and No. 8 center in the country. He was the third-best player in the state of New Hampshire, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.