Christian Fermin is back on the floor for Tennessee after spending the middle of July in recovery mode from surgery on his left hand.
The veteran forward had the procedure on July 16 to repair a fracture he suffered during a drill in practice on July 13. Tennessee trainer Chad Newman helped him off the court right away while Fermin held his left hand, and he later returned to the sideline with the hand in a brace. The injury cost him the final 2-3 weeks of the Vols’ summer practice, and he was initially expected to miss 4-6 weeks overall.
Now, though, the update is a clean one. “Christian, he's back,” Vols assistant coach Amorrow Morgan told the media Aug. 27 when asked about Fermin.
“He'll be in practice today. He practiced earlier this week.
He's been great.
“He's actually one of our leaders in rebounding leading up to this week, so he's great. He really put the time in over the summer and got stronger. He came in and put on, I think, 12 or 13 pounds in his time here, even with the setback that he had, so he's going to be a great addition for what we do just the same.”
Fermin’s arrival gave Tennessee another key piece in the portal, as he was the second-to-last addition to the roster this offseason. He committed on May 14, helping form an eight-man transfer class that 247Sports now ranks No. 2 overall in the country.
He’s already talked about how demanding Tennessee has been since he got there. “It's been hard,” Fermin told the media July 7 about his first few months with Tennessee.
“There's a standard here of just how much work you're going to put in every day, and I feel like it's definitely far beyond my college experience so far, as far as just the amount of work we're putting in and just the intensity in it. So I'll say it's just full of work, just hard work.”
Fermin spent most of last season at VCU sidelined by a personal matter, appearing in just four games. Before that, he was a durable piece for the Rams, playing in 86 games over the previous three seasons.
As a junior in 2024-25, he appeared in 34 games and averaged 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game. He also gave VCU rim protection, finishing with 47 blocks and ranking second on the team with 1.4 blocks per game.
His best scoring night came against Loyola, where he posted 14 points. He also scored 12 against Boston College, and his most complete outing was against La Salle, when he finished with seven points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
“Here (at Tennessee), everything is really just based upon just being where you have to be and being consistent and giving your all,” Fermin said. “I would just say that I think there's a lot of structure here, so I feel like that's definitely something that you can gain from being here, is just structurally you're going to be on point. You're gonna learn how to be punctual and everything, and yeah, just definitely I would say just a lot of balance and structure has been given to me just coming here.”
Before Tennessee, Fermin was a starter at VCU in 2023-24, opening all 38 games while averaging 5.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game. He shot 57% from the field, blocked a team-high 55 shots and reached double figures six times.
His first career double-double came in a win over Samford, and he added a season-high five blocks in that game. He also pulled down 14 rebounds against George Washington.
As a freshman, he came off the bench in 14 games and averaged 0.4 points and 0.7 rebounds in 3.4 minutes.
The Tobyhanna, Pa. native originally signed with VCU out of high school over offers from Pittsburgh, Penn State, St. John's, Temple and others. 247Sports rated him a three-star prospect, the No. 23 overall center and the No. 5 player in Pennsylvania.
In Other News...
Vols Mourn Respected Assistant Who Helped Shape Tennessee Across Eras
Charles Kippy Browns death at 71 closes the book on a remarkable football life that touched Tennessee from multiple angles. Before he became a respected assistant in Knoxville, Brown had already broken ground as the first Black quarterback at Sweetwater High School and the University of Memphis, then built a coaching rsum that stretched from college sidelines to a 22-season NFL career, including a Super Bowl title with the Seattle Seahawks.
For Tennessee, Brown was the kind of figure whose influence spanned eras, serving as an assistant under three different head coaches and even stepping in briefly as interim head coach. His path also took him to the XFL, where he coached the Memphis Maniax, another stop in a career defined by adaptability and staying power. The Volunteers are mourning not just a former staff member, but a trailblazer who helped shape the game at multiple levels. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees Home Opener Just Got More Intriguing Than Fans Expected
Tennessees 2026 home opener against Furman already had the feel of a fresh start, and now it carries a little more weight. The Volunteers will begin the season Sept. 5 in Knoxville, with the game set for SEC Network+ and ESPN+, and the spotlight will quickly turn to freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon, one of the nations top high school prospects, making his first start for the program.
The other notable subplot is on the defensive side, where senior linebacker Arion Carter will miss the first game after the NCAA reduced his suspension from two games to one. Even with Furman on the other side of the field, Tennessee will use the opener to get a first look at Brandon under center while also managing a front-seven absence that changes the early-season picture just enough to make Week 1 worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Crossed A Uniform Line Fans Will Debate
Tennessees latest business move is a big one, and it goes well beyond the usual scoreboard talk. Tennessee Athletics has signed a 10-year jersey patch sponsorship deal with First Horizon Bank that reportedly tops $120 million, a pact that will put the banks name on football uniforms and across multiple Olympic sports while leaving mens and womens basketball out of the arrangement.
The patch is set to appear starting in the 2026 season, giving Vols fans plenty of time to get used to the idea of a sponsor sitting on the uniform. For a program that has long sold itself on tradition and pageantry, this is the kind of change that will invite debate as much as it does revenue, especially with the deal stretching a full decade and reaching so many corners of the athletic department. [Read more 🡒]