Tennessee basketball is hosting one of the top players in the transfer portal on a visit early next week. Virginia shooting guard Isaac McKneely is visiting Tennessee on Monday night and into Tuesday, multiple sources told RTI on Friday morning.
A 6-foot-4 junior, McKneely averaged 14.4 points, 2.9 assists and 2.7 steals last season for Virginia. McKneely is one of the best shooters in the entire country, making 101 three-pointers on an incredibly efficient 42% shooting from beyond the arc.
Tennessee is looking to replace Chaz Lanier this offseason in the transfer portal. It’s a tall task with Lanier entering the Sweet 16 averaging 18.1 points per game this season while making 120 three-pointers on 41% shooting from deep.
McKneely is as close to a sure fire replacement for Lanier as Tennessee could find as the West Virginia native has already had an abundance of success at the power five level, albeit for a bad Virginia team.
The sharp shooting guard scored 20-plus points eight times last season with his worst game of the season coming against Tennessee when Jahmai Mashack held him to just four points on one-of-six shooting from the field.
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Despite doing most of his damage from beyond the arc, McKneely was relatively efficient from inside the arc last season with a 48% shooting percentage from two-point range.
McKneely is one of the best players to enter the transfer portal in the first week since it’s opened up. 247sports ranks McKneely as the No. 8 player and EvanMiya ranks him as the No. 17 in the portal at the time of publication.
Battling for a highly touted player in the transfer portal, Tennessee is swimming in some deep waters. McKneely is also considering North Carolina and Louisville as well as Tennessee and plans on visiting Louisville this weekend.
Tennessee basketball is replacing most of its production from its 2025 team including four starters and six rotational players. The Vols have a lot of needs in the transfer portal because of that but point guard and perimeter shooting is near the top.
Rick Barnes and his staff currently have six scholarships to work with. They have four returning players, two high school players signed and another committed. While Tennessee is looking to extend its season this weekend in Indianapolis, they’ll have plenty of work to do putting together its 2025-26 roster over the next two months.
