After a quiet first few weeks of the offseason, Tennessee basketball’s 2023-24 roster began to take shape last week as the Vols landed three players out of the transfer portal.
Tennessee landed Jordan Gainey from USC Upstate, Chris Ledlum from Harvard and Dalton Knecht from Northern Colorado. Combine those three additions to the roster with Santiago Vescovi announcing his intentions to return to Knoxville for his super senior season and the Vols’ roster is starting to come clear.
But adding that many players makes for a scholarship crunch. Each division one team has 13 scholarships each season. So where does Tennessee’s roster stand from a numbers standpoint after the busy week?
Tennessee returns eight scholarship players from last season: Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Jonas Aidoo, Tobe Awaka, B.J. Edwards, and the redshirted D.J. Jefferson and Freddie Dilione. The Vols added three prep players to the roster: Cameron Carr, JP Estrella and Cade Phillips.
Add those 11 players to the three transfers that committed to Tennessee this week and the Vols currently have 14 scholarship players for next season.
That doesn’t even count Uros Plavsic who has another season of eligibility or Julian Phillips and Josiah-Jordan James who are testing the NBA Draft waters without forsaking their college eligibility. But with Tennessee already one scholarship over the limit it seems unlikely that any of these three would return to Knoxville and it would be shocking for multiple to return.
But even if Plavsic, James and Phillips all move on from Tennessee, the Vols would be one scholarship over the limit. What are their options to get back to the 13 limit? Well, there’s a couple.
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Jordan Gainey is the son of Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey and the Vols could have him walk on. Tennessee planned on Gainey being on scholarship when he committed last week so it seems very unlikely that they would reverse course and make him walk on, but that is a way for them to gain a scholarship without cutting a player.
The Vols could encourage one of their three prep signees, likely Carr or Phillips, to go play at a prep school for a season before coming to Tennessee. That isn’t a rarity across the country but also isn’t something Barnes has done at Tennessee.
The last option would be for a returning Tennessee player to enter the transfer portal. It’s unclear who that would be but Edwards and Jefferson had the smallest role of any returning player last season (besides Dilione who early enrolled in January and is poised to be a major factor next season).
That’s where things stand for Tennessee basketball’s roster construction after a busy week in the transfer portal. Even if Plavsic, James and Phillips all move on from Tennessee, the Vols still have to clear one more scholarship for next season.
If the Vols wanted to add another prep prospect or player from the transfer portal than they would have to clear a second scholarship.
After one hectic week of roster additions, Tennessee seems likely done adding to its 2023-24 roster. The biggest announcement to track moving forward is who announces they’re leaving.
