Dai Dai Ames (No. 7) of the California Golden Bears is guarded by Seth Trimble of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second half at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 17, 2026, in Berkeley, California.
Jalen Haralson of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dunks the ball against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on Dec. 2, 2025, in South Bend, Indiana.
Both Vanderbilt and Tennessee suffered multiple losses in the transfer portal following the 2025-26 men’s basketball season.
Dai Dai Ames (No. 7) of the California Golden Bears is guarded by Seth Trimble of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second half at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 17, 2026, in Berkeley, California.
The Volunteers have rebounded in impressive fashion, adding a four-player group — so far — that has UT ranked third in the nation in portal transfer talent by 247Sports, trailing only Louisville and Indiana.
Vanderbilt, on the other hand, has been quiet so far.
The Commodores, who added eight players in the portal last season, haven’t landed a commitment yet.
Jalen Haralson of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dunks the ball against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on Dec. 2, 2025, in South Bend, Indiana.
Vandy will have to get rolling at some point, as Mark Byington knows he must replace Duke Miles (averaged 16.1 points, 4.5 assists during the 2025-26 season), forward Tyler Nickel (13.5 points), forward Devin McGlockton (9.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) and forward Jalen Washington (8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds), all of whom are out of eligibility. Forward AK Okereke (9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists) may be in the same boat, as he’ll need a waiver to obtain another year of eligibility.
In addition, five Vandy players entered the transfer portal, with guard Mike James committing to South Florida and guard Jaylon Dean-Vines committing to McNeese State. Forward Tyler Harris, guard Frankie Collins and guard George Kimble III have not yet committed to new schools.
It’s also possible that superstar guard Tyler Tanner might head to the NBA, after the Brentwood native averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds as a sophomore in 2025-26.
So it seems the only definite returnees — at this point — are guard Chandler Bing (3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds this season) and center Jayden Leverett (1.0 points, 1.2 rebounds). The Commodores are expected to add three incoming freshmen in point guard Baylor Allen, guard Ethan Mgbako and center Jackson Sheffield.
A year ago, Vanderbilt added six players from the portal between April 4 and April 28, with the ‘Dores welcoming a seventh (Miles) in May and an eighth (Kimble) in June.
So far this year, however, there’s been silence on West End.
That may not be as unusual as it might sound, though, as college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman tweeted Wednesday that several other name programs — such as Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut, Michigan State, Texas Tech, St. John’s, Wisconsin, Auburn and LSU — have yet to add any players from the portal either.
A few hours down Interstate 40 from Vanderbilt, coach Rick Barnes saw six Vols enter the portal after UT reached the Elite Eight for a third straight season in 2025-26. Guard Bishop Boswell has committed to Maryland, forward Jaylen Carey to Missouri, forward J.P. Estrella to Michigan and forward Cade Phillips to Texas A&M. Guards Clarence Massamba and Amari Evans have not announced new schools yet.
The Vols already knew they would need to replace point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie (18.4 points per game, 5.4 assists in 2025-26) and forward Felix Okpara (8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks) next season, as both players have completed their eligibility.
It also appears likely that five-star talent Nate Ament, a guard who averaged 16.7 points and 6.4 rebounds during his freshman season, will head to the NBA as a possible first-round pick.
But Barnes has done an impressive job of restocking the roster with experienced talent from the portal:
• Former Belmont guard Tyler Lundblade averaged 15.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 2025-26, shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range.
• Former Cal guard Dai Dai Ames averaged 16.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 2025-26, shooting 37.6 percent from three-point range.
• Former Loyola Chicago center Miles Rubin averaged 11.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 blocks, shooting 64.7 percent overall from the field.
• Former Notre Dame guard Jalen Haralson averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He shot 51.5 percent from the field overall, but just 20 percent from three-point distance.
The Vols will also welcome four highly touted freshmen in guard Marquis Clark, guard Manny Green, forward Ralph Scott and forward Chris Washington Jr., the last of whom committed to UT on Thursday after previously de-committing from Alabama.
Tennessee’s talent pool is good enough that the On3 website ranked the Vols No. 17 in a way-too-early top 25 posted Thursday.
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