The Tennessee Volunteers are coming off their third straight Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Under head coach Rick Barnes, the No. 6 seed Volunteers secured wins over the No. 11 Miami (OH) Redhawks, No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers and No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones.
However, just like their other two Elite Eight matchups, they failed to advance any further. Tennessee's 2025-26 college basketball season was ended by the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines. However, their deep March Madness run gives the Volunteers something to build on.
So far into the offseason, Barnes and his staff have worked on attacking the transfer portal. With five commitments, their group already ranks eighth in the SEC.
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They may not be done either. On Friday, On3's senior national recruiting analyst, Jamie Shaw, logged an expert prediction for Tennessee to land former Kennesaw State Owls
forward Braedan Lue.
The sophomore just put together a solid season with the Owls. He appeared in 35 games and made 34 starts while averaging 10.9 points (career-high), 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists (career-high). He also shot 45.2% from the field and 26.7% from the three-point line.
Lue's performance on the court led to some exciting honors. He was named to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team. Now in the open market, On3 Industry Rankings list him as a three-star recruit, the No. 60 power forward and the No. 228 player to hit the transfer portal this offseason.
While Tennessee is hoping to land his commitment, they aren't the only program the forward is considering. In a separate report, Shaw reveals that Lue is set to take a visit with the UAB Blazers.
If the Volunteers can come out on top, though, Lue could help replace a handful of power forwards that Tennessee has lost. That includes Cade Phillips (Texas A&M Aggies), J.P. Estrella (Michigan Wolverines) and Jaylen Carey (Missouri Tigers).
