Tennessee Basketball reportedly has interest in Patriot League freshman guard
Tennessee Basketball has reportedly shown interest in Lafayette freshman guard Alex Chaikin, a 6-foot-4 transfer guard who averaged 13.9 points per game and shot 47.9% from the 3-point line this season.
Chaikin, from Williamsburg, Va., started 19 times in 32 games at Lafayette this season and played 26.5 minutes per game on his way to being named to the All-Patriot League team. He shot 49.8% from the floor and was 80-for-167 from the 3-point line.
He made a season-high eight 3-pointers against American in March and made three or more threes in 14 of 32 games. He scored 20 or more points in six games, including a season-high 29 against American.
Chaikin had 27 points, including four threes, against Army, 24 against Boston University and 23 against Bucknell.
Tennessee has signed two players from NCAA Transfer Portal
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.
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.
Carey, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound sophomore, averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game at Vanderbilt this season.
Who the Vols are recruiting to fill the 2025-26 roster
The Vols are also recruiting five-star small forward Nate Ament, a consensus top-five player in the 2025 class, Maryland transfer guard Rodney Rice and Lincoln Memorial transfer wing Elyjah Freeman.
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Rice, a 6-foot-4, 198-pound shooting guard who visited Tennessee over the weekend, averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 36 games this season, shooting 43.4% from the field and 37.4% from the 3-point line.
Ament, the 6-foot-9, 185-pound product of Manassas, Va., is ranked No. 3 overall in the On3 rankings. He’s the No. 2 small forward in the class and No. 1 overall prospect in the state of Virginia.
Freeman, a 6-foot-8 freshman, averaged 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in Division II basketball 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. Tennessee, Auburn and Indiana are currently the focus of Freeman’s recruitment.
Tennessee has multiple roster spots to fill after losing six seniors from this season’s roster: Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, Jordan Gainey, Igor Milicic Jr. and Darlinstone Dubar.
Tennessee has signed two high school prospects in four-star guard Amari Evans and four-star center Dewayne Brown, and has a commitment from point guard Troy Henderson.
