What Rick Barnes wants next for Tennessee basketball roster in transfer portal

Rick Barnes has three spots to fill on the Tennessee basketball roster as of Thursday afternoon.

Or perhaps it’s two as the Vols coach teased that there could be another unannounced commitment as the Vols work to address their final needs.

“Well, obviously, we are waiting on a couple of guys to see,” Barnes said Thursday about what Tennessee will do with those spots. “Depending on how that falls in place will determine which way we go.”

The Vols have five known transfer portal commitments and are currently hosting Kennesaw State transfer forward Braedan Lue on a visit.

“The fact is as we look at what we have left, we wanted to make sure that we got guys that certainly understand the physicality in this league,” the Vols coach said. “We addressed that with what we have and what we have left.”

Barnes expects Tennessee will use all of the final three spots. But he did not indicate if the Vols plan to use two spots for big men. UT is hoping to land superstar Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris, which is the likely allocation for the third spot. Harris has not announced a college commitment but is planning to go through the NBA Draft process with the possibility of returning to college.

“I think we will fill our roster,” Barnes said. “I do. I do think that before we are done we will have a full roster.”

Guards Dai Dai Ames, Terrence Hill Jr. and Tyler Lundblade and forwards Jalen Haralson and Miles Rubin have all committed UT.

Ames averaged a career-best 16.9 points and shot 37.6% on 3-pointers at Cal. He also hit 85% of his free throws. He had 12 games with at least 20 points and topped 25 points in five of those.

Ames was a third-team All-ACC selection.

Hill averaged 15.0 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game during a breakout season at VCU. The 6-foot-3 guard from Portland, Oregon, shot 37.0% on 81 made 3-pointers and 46.6% from the field.

Lundblade, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in the 2025-26 season, averaged 15.6 points, shooting 40.6% on 3-pointers in the 2025-26 season. He was one of 17 players to make more than 100 3-pointers this season. He made 115 in the 2025-26 season after making 104 the year prior.

Haralson averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists, earning All-ACC honorable mention as a freshman. He played in 27 games and started 23.

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Haralson was a four-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American out of La Lumiere (Indiana) in the 2025 class. He was the No. 39 prospect in the nation in the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Rubin averaged 11.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as a junior for the Ramblers before entering the transfer portal. The Chicago native has been a shot-blocking wizard in his career. He has blocked 237 shots in 103 games.