Tennessee announces signing of Harvard transfer forward Chris Ledlum

Tennessee basketball has officially added Harvard transfer forward Chris Ledlum. The Vols on Wednesday afternoon announced the signing of the 6-foot-6, 225-pound junior from Staten Island, N.Y. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds over the last three seasons at Harvard. 

“Chris has many of the characteristics we value in our program,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “He has a tremendous work ethic and plays with grit, toughness and a bit of swagger. We’ve seen similar traits in other Vols from New York, and we expect Chris to build on that history.
 
“He comes from a wonderful family and had a tremendous career at Harvard playing for a great coach in Tommy Amaker, so he’s coming in with a strong foundation. He’ll give us an inside-outside scoring presence. And his versatility—scoring, rebounding and playmaking—extends our ability to create mismatches.”

Ledlum is the second transfer signing in as many days, following USC Upstate combo guard Jordan Gainey on Tuesday. Tennessee added three commitments from the NCAA Transfer Portal in April, with Gainey and Ledlum alongside Northern Colorado wing Dalton Knecht.

The signing of Knecht has not yet been announced, but he’s expected to arrive in Knoxville and enroll in school this month.

Ledlum announced his commitment on Instagram on April 19. Tennessee added its three transfer commitments over a span of four days while also getting senior guard Santiago Vescovi back for a fifth year with the Vols.

Ledlum, recruited to Tennessee by assistant coach Rod Clark, picked the Vols over Indiana and St. John’s. Ledlum visited Indiana prior to his official visit to Tennessee and was at St. John’s for an official visit after seeing the Vols, before then shutting down his recruitment.

Chris Ledlum averaged 18.8 points, 8.5 rebounds in 28 games this season

Ledlum last season averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in 28 games at Harvard. He averaged 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds during a breakout sophomore season in 2021-22. 

He started 27 times in 28 games as a junior, averaging 31.5 minutes per game. Ledlum scored in double-figures 26 times this season and had nine double-doubles. He had a season-high 35 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a win at Cornell in February. In 70 games over the last three seasons at Harvard, Ledlum averaged 13.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 assists in 24.8 minutes per game, making 41 starts.

Ledlum visited the weekend of April 15 alongside Northern Colorado’s Dalton Knecht. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Knecht averaged 20.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 35.3 minutes per game in 32 games last season, shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the 3-point line.

USC Upstate transfer Jordan Gainey shot 40.8 percent from the 3-point line the last two seasons

Gainey, the 6-foot-4, 175-pound USC Upstate sophomore guard and son of Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey, averaged 15.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.7 minutes per game, shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from the 3-point line in 32 games. 

As a freshman in 2021-22, Gainey shot 47.1 percent from the field and 49.3 percent from the 3-point line. He made 74 of 150 3-point attempts as a freshman and 70 of 203 as a sophomore. He was a two-time All-Big South pick at USC Upstate and was the Big South’s Freshman of the Year in 2021-22.

Vescovi led Tennessee this season in both scoring, averaging 12.5 points per game, and minutes, playing 32.9 minutes per game. He shot 39.6 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from the 3-point line, going 91 of 246 from deep. Over the last four seasons, Vescovi averaged 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists over 114 games, averaging 31.1 minutes per game. He shot a combined 39.7 percent from the field and 38.1 percent form the 3-point line.