Juke Harris officially withdraws from NBA Draft after signing with Tennessee basketball

Juke Harris announced the news on Monday morning when he committed to Tennessee basketball. The Wake Forest transfer wing would be withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft while opting to join the Vols instead.

“I decided to go back to school,” Harris said in a video on social media. “It’s going to look a little bit different this time.”

The move became official on Tuesday, with NBA Communications reporting that Harris had withdrawn from the draft and would not be taking part in the NBA Draft Combine, scheduled for May 10-17 in Chicago. Harris was one of 73 players invited to the combine, with the list included Tennessee’s Nate Ament, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara.

Juke Harris signed with Tennessee on Monday

Tennessee announced the signing of Harris on Monday afternoon.

“We are thrilled Juke made the decision to join our program at Tennessee,” Rick Barnes said in a press release. “Juke is not only an explosive talent, but also a humble young man from a great family.”

Harris is the No. 1 overall player in the Rivals Transfer Portal rankings after averaging 21.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 35.1 minutes per game last season, starting all 35 games for Wake.

He was the ACC’s Most Improved Player award winner after taking a massive jump from his freshman year, when he averaged 6.1 points in 19.0 minutes per game off the bench in 2024-25.

“One of the premier scorers nationally,” Barnes said, “he possesses the ability to put the ball in the basket in numerous ways, from all over the floor. Juke can take over a game and impose his will at any time. He is a versatile player who can handle the ball in transition and has the length to make an impact defensively.”

Juke Harris picks Vols over Michigan, North Carolina, Louisville

Harris is the seventh player Tennessee has signed from the NCAA Transfer Portal, following guards Tyler Lundblade (Belmont), Dai Dai Ames (Cal) and Terrence Hill Jr. (VCU) and forwards Miles Rubin (Loyola Chicago), Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame) and Braedan Lue (Kennesaw State).

Tennessee’s 2026-27 roster overhaul — the Vols are down to one roster spot available after adding Harris — came after seven players in total left the program last month. Six entered the NCAA Transfer Portal: J.P. Estrella (Michigan), Cade Phillips (Texas A&M), Jaylen Carey (Missouri), Bishop Boswell (Maryland), Amari Evans (Texas) and Clarence Massamba (UC Davis). Ethan Burg returned home to Israel.

Harris picked Tennessee over North Carolina and Michigan. He took an official visit to Michigan on April 11, attending the national championship parade in Ann Arbor, and hosted UNC coaches in an in-home visit.

Barnes and his staff did their own in-home visit on April 12, after Harris returned from the Michigan visit.

Last week Barnes and three assistant coaches flew to California to meet with Harris on Wednesday. Harris is training for the NBA Draft in Los Angeles. 

Harris took an official visit to Michigan on April 11 and Barnes and his staff had an in-home visit in North Carolina with Harris the following day.