Where Tennessee Basketball is ranked in ESPN's Preseason Top 25

Tennessee Basketball is ranked No. 18 in ESPN’s Preseason Top 25, moving up five spots since the previous offseason ranking from college basketball analyst Jeff Borzello. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Amaree Abram, Nate Ament, Cade Phillips and Felix Okpara is ESPN’s projected starting five.

“Rick Barnes loses five of his top six scorers from last season,” Borzello wrote, “but he does bring in two of the country’s most impactful newcomers: Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie and top-five recruit Nate Ament. 

“Gillespie is an incredibly efficient point guard, and Ament is an uber-talented lottery pick on the wing.” 

Tennessee has nine new players on roster in total, but the Vols return their front court intact with Felix Okpara, Cade Phillips and JP Estrella coming back, while Barnes and his staff went to the NCAA Transfer Portal to add Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey. 

“Returnees Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips plus Vanderbilt transfer Jaylen Carey are solid up front,” Borzello said. “Now the question is whether Barnes and the Vols produce a top-five defense for the sixth straight season.”

Vols coming off two straight Elite Eights, 57 total wins

Tennessee is coming off back-to-back Elite Eight appearances and 57 total wins over the previous two seasons. The Vols have also finished in the top five in the final Associated Press Top 25 each of the last two seasons. 

Purdue is ESPN’s preseason No. 1, ahead of No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Houston, No. 4 UConn and No. 5 St. John’s. The rest of the top 10 is No. 6 Louisville, No. 7 BYU, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 10 Duke.

Tennessee will host Duke in a sold-out preseason exhibition game at Food City Center on October 26 (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN2) and will also face Florida, Houston, Louisville and Kentucky in the regular. 

Other opponents in the ESPN Top 25 are No. 12 Arkansas, No. 16 Illinois, No. 17 Auburn and No. 19 Alabama.

Tennessee is a No. 3 seed for NCAA Tournament in latest ESPN Bracketology

ESPN’s last Bracketology update on September 23 has Tennessee as a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, matched up against No. 14 Charleston in Greenville, S.C. 

ESPN’s current No. 1 seeds are Florida, Houston, Duke and Purdue. The No. 2 seeds are St. John’s, UConn, Michigan and BYU. The other No. 3 seeds are Iowa State, Arizona and Kentucky. 

Sites for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament are Greenville, S.C., Buffalo, Oklahoma City, Portland, Tampa, Philadelphia, San Diego and St. Louis. 

The regional sites are Houston (South Region), San Jose (West Region), Chicago (Midwest Region) and Washington D.C. (East Region).

The Final Four is in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Fieldhouse. 

A closer look at Tennessee’s 2025-26 season

After the exhibition opener vs. Duke on October 26, Tennessee will start the regular-season schedule on November 3 against Mercer at Food City Center. 

The non-conference schedule is highlighted by a trip to the Player Era Men’s Championship in Las Vegas — facing Rutgers, Houston and a third team to be determined — as well as a road game at Syracuse, a neutral-site game against Illinois in Nashville and a home date with Louisville. 

SEC play starts January 3 at Arkansas and includes other conference road games at Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina. Tennessee has home dates Texas, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, LSU and Oklahoma and home-and-home games against Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.