A new target emerged on Tennessee basketball’s recruiting board last week when five-star shooting guard Matthew Able signed a release from his NLI to Miami. Able signed with the Hurricanes back in the fall but de-committed after longtime Miami head coach Jim Larranaga announced his retirement in December.
The Vols’ coaching staff quickly reached out to Able and the shooting guard unofficially visited Tennessee on Saturday for its 79-76 win over Alabama.
“Tennessee is an amazing school so it was pretty easy to set up a visit,” Able told RTI on Sunday afternoon. “It was just an unofficial but I definitely wanted to see the campus and the game day environment.”
The environment didn’t disappoint. Able arrived in Knoxville on Saturday morning in time to watch Tennessee’s shoot around and pregame routines before the 4 p.m. local time tipoff.
“That’s the biggest arena, biggest college arena I’ve been in for sure,” Able said. “I think it’s one of the biggest in the country. Just the environment in terms of the fans it was energetic from the very beginning. The orange out was really amazing. And of course the game itself, that was probably, if I had to say, the game of the year in college basketball overall. So I think I chose the best game possible to go to and that was just a really exciting experience overall.”
Able has flown up the recruiting rankings after a strong summer circuit. After previously being rated as a three-star, Able now ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 26 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings. A Fort Lauderdale native, Able also ranks as the No. 6 shooting guard in the country and and the No. 6 player in the state of Florida.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Players Donate To V Foundation In Honor Of Dick Vitale
The over capacity, 22,392 crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center delivering stood out to Able because that’s one of three main things he’s prioritizing in a school.
“I would definitely say the big thing is academics,” Able said. “I take my academics very seriously. I want to get a good education. But also I would say the culture within the players and the coaching staff, that’s a big thing. Just that relatability and being able to build that bond with the coaching staff and players is a really big thing. And the environment plays a very big deal. It was amazing at Tennessee and I would say those are really the three big things I’m looking for.”
Tennessee basketball prides itself on its culture and the player-coach dynamic is something Chaz Lanier emphasized when he committed to Tennessee out of the transfer portal last summer. The Vols didn’t recruit Able the first time around his recruitment making Able’s conversations with Barnes some of his firsts.
“Coach Barnes, he’s a super legendary guy. He was talking to me a lot and really explaining his reasons to come to Tennessee and on top of that what type of player he thinks I am and what Tennessee can provide which I really appreciated. He’s just a really likable person and I enjoyed my conversations with him a lot.”
On the court, Able saw a Tennessee system that he would fit in well with. The 6-foot-5 guard has a 6-foot-10 wingspan, is a high-level shooter and Barnes’ offense puts a priority on off-ball movement. That was particularly the case against Alabama where shooting guards Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey each went for 18 points.
“Tennessee has lots of different guys coming off down screens and away screens, pin downs, different types of away screens,” Able said. “A lot of off ball movement. I’m a shooter. I can shoot the ball at an elite level so that definitely fits my game and defensively I feel like they have a lot of guys, other than Zeigler, a lot of guys with a lot of length. I think I match that prototype.”
It’s still very early in the second go around of Able’s recruitment. The blue-chip guard plans on taking unofficial visits to Alabama and Baylor this week. After that, Able is unsure on what’s next for his recruitment.
Tennessee has an abundance of scholarships and opportunities available for the 2025-26 season. The Vols signed two high school recruits in the fall, four-star wing Amari Evans and four-star center DeWayne Brown.
