Northern Colorado transfer wing Dalton Knecht commits to Tennessee

Tennessee basketball’s recruiting run continued Friday with a commitment from Northern Colorado’s Dalton Knecht. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound senior wing averaged 20.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 35.3 minutes per game in 32 games this season, shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the 3-point line.

“It just felt special from the moment I landed,” Knecht said, explaining why he picked Vols. “Spending time with the staff and going to the spring game stood out. Just seeing all the fans at spring game was impressive. I mean 50 thousand at a spring game thag doesn’t matter shows you how much support is at Tennessee.”

Knecht, who picked Tennessee over Oregon, is the third commitment out of the NCAA Transfer Portal for the Vols this week, following USC Upstate guard Jordan Gainey’s commitment on Tuesday and Harvard forward Chris Ledlum’s commitment on Wednesday.

Knecht really felt like playing for Rick Barnes could help his overall game.

“I liked how much he told me I could fit in and help the team,” Knecht said. “He made me see it as possible home and he has put a lot of players in the league and that’s my ultimate goal.”

Senior guard Santiago Vescovi also announced Tuesday night that he would be returning to Tennessee for a fifth season with the Vols.

“They see me being a guard and playing a 2/3,” Knecht said. “Helping out the team in scoring and using my length on defense. I have known about Tennessee because I’ve watched them on TV. I just felt that they played a style I could fit well into.

Vols hosted Dalton Knecht on official visit during Orange & White Game weekend

Knecht took an official visit to Tennessee alongside Ledlum last weekend, after having previously visited Oregon. He shut down his recruitment after the visit with the Vols, setting up Friday’s announcement.

“Definitely really liked it,” Knecht said of the vibe he got from the Vols. “We went to the spring game. Just the crowd and atmosphere of that spring game was crazy, there was like 60,000 people. I could only imagine what the basketball side of it would be.”

He averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.4 minutes per game over two seasons at Northern Colorado, after transferring from Northeastern Junior College in Colorado. 

Knecht describes himself as “a big guard” on the floor. He grew up playing point guard, but went through a pair of growth spurts, going from 5-foot-8 as a sophomore in high school to 6-foot-3 at graduation, then to 6-foot-6 by the time he left junior college.

“I played point guard most of my life, until I hit my growth spurt,” he said. “And I’ve just been a big guard ever since.”

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Ledlum, a junior from Staten Island, N.Y., announced his decision on Instagram on Tuesday. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds over the last three seasons at Harvard and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Dalton Knecht is Tennessee’s third transfer portal commitment this week

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.

Gainey, the 6-foot-4, 175-pound USC Upstate guard, is the son of Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey. He averaged 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists, shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from the 3-point line over the last two seasons with the Spartans. 

Gainey in 32 games this season 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. 

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.