Tennessee’s offseason overhaul has drawn plenty of preseason buzz, but CBS isn’t quite ready to push the Vols into the very top tier.
In Gary Parrish’s updated preseason Top 25 and 1, Tennessee checks in at No. 15, a spot that still keeps the Vols firmly in the national picture but places them behind three SEC teams: No. 1 Florida, No.
5 Texas and No. 10 Arkansas.
Parrish’s latest rankings were updated on July 13, 2026, and Tennessee landed outside the top 10 despite the kind of roster reload that has fueled a lot of optimism around Knoxville.
That optimism makes sense. Rick Barnes has guided Tennessee to three straight Elite Eight appearances, and this group is being built with the idea of finally taking the next step to the program’s first Final Four.
The catch is that this won’t look much like last season’s team. Tennessee returns only DeWayne Brown II and Troy Henderson as contributors from 2025-26, then filled out the rest of the roster through the transfer portal and high school recruiting.
The portal class is the headliner. Wake Forest guard Juke Harris leads the way, and Tennessee also brought in VCU’s Terrence Hill Jr., Cal’s Dai Dai Ames and Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade for backcourt help. Notre Dame’s Jalen Haralson, listed at 6-foot-7, gives the Vols another option as a guard or wing.
Up front, Tennessee added Loyola (Chicago)’s Miles Rubin, Kennesaw State’s Braedan Lue and VCU’s Christian Fermin.
Barnes sounded encouraged when he spoke in June, saying, “I love this time of year,” Barnes said in June. “I think that when you’ve got a group of guys that wanna be good, I think they embrace it, too.
You talk about being forged in fire, you know, you gotta turn it up every day. You gotta get the furnace hot, and you gotta get ’em to understand what’s coming.
We know what’s coming. Our schedule, what we have in front of us.
“But yeah, I think they’ve embraced it. We haven’t had any type of attitude situation.
Guys are doing what they’re doing, not only out here, but in the weight room, where there’s a lot of team bonding going on there, and just looking out for each other. We’ve got a good group of guys, but we’ve got a long way to go, like you’d expect this time of year.
But up to this point, I would say we’re very pleased with them.”
Tennessee is also tasked with replacing a major chunk of production after losing NBA draft picks Nate Ament, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara. The Vols additionally saw JP Estrella go to Michigan, Bishop Boswell to Maryland, Amari Evans to Texas, Jaylen Carey to Missouri and Cade Phillips to Texas A&M through the portal.
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Quarterback Tennessee Hosted Just Changed The Vols Portal Conversation
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For Tennessee, the ripple effect is that the room looks different now than it might have if Pribula had ended up in Knoxville. The Vols instead added Colorado transfer Ryan Staub, and he joins a competition that already includes George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon, giving Tennessee a young, crowded quarterback picture as the staff sorts out its next starter. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Heupel Is About To Set Tennessees 2026 Tone In Atlanta
SEC Media Days arrive in Atlanta next week, and Tennessee will be one of the first programs to help frame the conversation for the 2026 season. Josh Heupel is set for a busy Monday, with the Vols' head coach making the rounds as the league opens its annual preseason showcase, a setting that often tells you as much about a programs expectations as any spring practice update.
Tennessees presence will not be limited to Heupel alone, either, giving the Vols a chance to put a few key voices in front of the conference spotlight right away. With the full SEC schedule stretching across four days, the early stage belongs to Tennessee, and what gets said in Atlanta can shape how the rest of the league talks about the Vols heading into fall. [Read more 🡒]