Lincoln Memorial transfer Elyjah Freeman planning visit with Tennessee Basketball
Lincoln Memorial transfer Elyjah Freeman told AuburnLive he is planning a Tennessee visit after stops at Auburn and Indiana, with those three schools in focus as the recruitment of the Division II standout continues.
Freeman said a visit to Auburn over the weekend that he was planning a visit with the Vols and that he would like to make a decision by the end of next week.
AuburnLive reported that Auburn, Tennessee and Indiana are Freeman’s “main focus” while there is still “potential for other suitors to enter the mix.”
“I was under-recruited,” Freeman told AuburnLive after the Auburn visit, “so being able to go from where I’m at now and being able to visit here is crazy.”
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes and members of his staff visited Freeman in person Friday morning.
Elyjah Freeman starred as a freshman at Lincoln Memorial
Freeman is a 6-foot-8 wing who averaged 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a freshman playing Division II basketball at Lincoln Memorial this season.
He shot 46.3% from the 3-point line, scored 20 or more points in 14 games and 30 or more points in four games. Kentucky and Dayton are other Division I programs that have shown interest in Freeman, a Florida native.
Tennessee so far has added two players out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, signing Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey.
The Vols this weekend hosted Maryland shooting guard Rodney Rice on a visit.
The 6-foot-4 Rice, Gillespie’s teammate and roommate at Maryland this season, averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists, showing 43.4% from the field and 37.4% from the 3-point line. He visited the Vols alongside Gillespie.
Top 10
- 1New
Finebaum on Nico
'I would stay away'
- 2Hot
Jaydn Ott
Top RB enters transfer portal
- 3Trending
Angel Reese
Reacts to Hailey Van Lith
- 4
Nico Iamaleava
Odds out on next team
- 5
Hunter, Sanders
Colorado jerseys retired
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“They want me in the backcourt with Ja’Kobi,” Rice told Volquest after his visit to Tennessee.
“We’ve got experience playing with each other,” Rice added of Gillespie. “We’re going to have a good team, a winning team. (Tennessee is) trying to make a Final Four push.”
Gillespie started all 36 games at Maryland this season, averaging 14.7 points and 4.8 assists in 31.6 minutes per game while shooting 45.3% from the floor and 40.7% from the 3-point line, where he made 87 of 214 attempts.
He’s a Greeneville, Tenn. native, who started his college basketball career at Belmont, averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 31.4 minutes per game as a sophomore at Belmont in 2023-24.
Tennessee Basketball’s current roster situation
Tennessee’s current roster is scheduled to return three forwards in sophomores Cade Phillips and JP Estrella and junior in Felix Okpara and one guard in Bishop Boswell.
The Vols are set to lose six seniors in total, including seniors Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Jordan Gainey and Igor Milicic Jr., and fifth-year seniors in Chaz Lanier and Darlinstone Dubar.
The Vols entered this season with two open scholarships, giving Rick Barnes and his staff six openings to work with in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Tennessee has signed two players in its 2025 recruiting class, four-star guard Amari Evansand four-star center Dewayne Brown, and has a commitment from Virginia point guard Troy Henderson.
