Former Tennessee freshman and Knoxville native B.J. Edwards was with the Volunteers’ basketball program for one season before entering the transfer portal in May.
After just one week in the portal, Edwards has found his new home.
On Friday afternoon, B.J. Edwards announced on social media that he will be transferring to SMU in Dallas, TX.
“Next chapter,” the former Vol wrote on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
More from RTI: Tennessee Basketball’s 2023-24 Roster Seemingly Set
Prior to arriving at the University of Tennessee as a four-star recruit in the class of 2022, Edwards played ball at Knoxville Catholic until he graduated.
While he never fully found a spot in the Vols’ rotation during his freshman season, Edwards did give Tennessee a few minutes on the court during 14 games on the season. Edwards finished the season averaging 1.2 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game.
Edwards found more frequent minutes later in the SEC slate last year as the Vols’ battled injuries constantly. The Tennessee freshman hit his season-high in minutes (10) against South Carolina at home in February and recorded his season-high in points (5) in his first game with Tennessee against Tennessee Tech in November 2022.
The 6-foot-3 freshman didn’t crack Tennessee’s main rotation at any point during the year but still garnered respect from his teammates and coaches on the practice court from his work ethic. Now, Edwards will be taking that strong work ethic and a chip on his shoulder to Dallas alongside SMU head coach Rob Lanier.
Lanier took over as the head coach at SMU prior to the 2022-2023 season and finished 10-22 in his first year. Before SMU, though, Lanier was the head coach at Georgia State from 2019-2022.
Lanier took the Georgia State job after being an assistant on Rick Barnes’ staff at Tennessee from 2015 to 2019. There’s the full circle connection between Tennessee, Edwards, Lanier, and SMU.
B.J. Edwards is one of three Tennessee players to hit the transfer portal this offseason. Both Olivier Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips are currently in the portal, though Phillips also has an NBA Combine invitation under his belt for the event next week in Chicago.
After one year on Rocky Top, rising sophomore guard B.J. Edwards is now heading to team up with former Tennessee assistant Rob Lanier at SMU.
