Early names to know for Tennessee Basketball in the NCAA Transfer Portal
Just over 24 hours after seeing its season end in the Elite Eight loss to Houston, Tennessee Basketball is set to host its first visitor out of the NCAA Transfer Portal in Virginia guard Isaac McKneely.
McKneely is one of the early names to know in the portal for the Vols. The Vols are also expected to be involved with Maryland guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and have shown interest in Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne guard Jalen Jackson and Lincoln Memorial’s Elyjah Freeman.
It was widely reported Monday that Gillespie would be entering the portal after former Maryland head coach Kevin Willard left for Villanova.
Isaac McKneely this season: 14.2 points per game, 42.1% 3FG
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.
Gillespie, a Greeneville, Tenn., native, played his first two seasons of college basketball at Belmont, averaging 12.9 points, 3.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 26.2 minutes per game, starting 32 times in 57 games with the Bruins.
He averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 31.4 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2023-24, starting 24 times in 25 games.
McKneely, a 6-foot-4 junior averaged 14.4 points and shot 42.1% from the 3-point line in 34 games with the Cavaliers this season. On3’s Joe Tipton reported Monday that Tennessee and Louisville appear to be the frontrunners in McKeely’s recruitment.
He made 101 3-pointers this season while also averaging 2.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game. He shot 43.9% from the floor. He made 51 threes as a freshman in 2022-23 and 81 last season, when he averaged 12.3 points per game.
Freeman, the 6-foot-8 Division II freshman averaged 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds this season. He shot 57% from the field and 46% from three.
Florida Southern’s Alex Steen, another Division II transfer, told On3’s Jamie Shaw that Tennessee is one of many schools that has reached out. The 6-foot-8 junior averaged 17.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game this season.
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Jackson spent the last two seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne after starting his career at Illinois-Chicago. He averaged 19.2 points per game at IPFW this season, shooting 48.4% from the field while also averaging 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 31.4 minutes per game.
Tennessee has multiple roster spots to fill in NCAA Transfer Portal
Tennessee will be targeting multiple portal additions, including veteran guards, both on the ball and off, as well as wings and stretch forwards as the Vols rebuild the backcourt and perimeter as a whole.
The current roster has two sophomores on roster, forwards Cade Phillips and JP Estrella, one junior in Felix Okpara and one freshman in Bishop Boswell.
Tennessee is 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 Evans and four-star center Dewayne Brown, and has a commitment from Virginia point guard Troy Henderson.
