With the exception of a few transfers, college basketball rosters are mostly set after the July 7 deadline for players to pull their name out of the NBA Draft passed this week. It’s been a productive offseason to date for Rick Barnes, let’s look at where Tennessee basketball stands in the most recent power rankings.
CBS Sports Jon Rothstein has the Vols ranked No. 21 in his “ROTHSTEIN 45”. The No. 21 ranking was fifth in what’s due to be a strong SEC.
Rothstein’s co worker Gary Parrish is slightly higher on Tennessee ranking them at No. 17 in his “Top 25 and 1”, good for fourth in the SEC.
Fox Sports Aaron Torres is as high on the Vols as anyone, ranking them No. 14 nationally and third in the SEC.
Andy Katz of NCAA.com is the lowest on Tennessee of all national media members, ranking the retooled Vols No. 35 nationally and seventh in the SEC.
Major publication’s like ESPN, The Athletic and Stadium haven’t updated their rankings since last week’s deadline but all three have published rankings since Tennessee’s roster was set in April with the commitment of five-star Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman ranks Tennessee No. 15 nationally and fourth in the SEC. The Vols came in at No. 8 in The Athletic’s rankings and No. 18 in ESPN’s.
The hectic offseason saw Tennessee lose two players to the NBA Draft, one to graduation and four to transfer. After the end of the season the Vols added Auburn transfer Justin Powell, France native Quentin Diboundje and blue chip recruits Jonas Aidoo and Huntley-Hatfield. The strong close catapulted Tennessee’s signing class to No. 3 nationally.
Other SEC teams frequenting the top 25s included Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama and Auburn.
