{"id":190592,"date":"2026-04-19T18:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T22:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=190592"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T22:53:13","slug":"tennessee-receives-commitment-from-vcu-transfer-is-2026-nba-draft-prospect-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/19\/tennessee-receives-commitment-from-vcu-transfer-is-2026-nba-draft-prospect-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Receives Commitment from VCU Transfer, Is 2026 NBA Draft Prospect Next?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tennessee Volunteers<\/a> have been among the best programs over the last year. It doesn’t appear that Rick Barnes<\/a> has any intention of allowing the Volunteers to fall from the top of the ledger in the near future.<\/p>\n

Barnes received a fifth transfer commitment this spring, earlier today. According to Joe Tipton of On3, VCU transfer Terrence Hill Jr.<\/a> gave his pledge to Barnes and the Volunteers this morning.<\/p>\n

“VCU transfer guard Terrence Hill Jr. has committed to Tennessee, Joe Tipton reports,”\u00a0 per On3’s X account<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

UT Gets Commitment from VCU Transfer, Is 2026 NBA Draft Prospect Next?<\/h2>\n

Hill’s commitment was expected. Hill wrapped up his visit to Knoxville (Tenn.) on Friday after visiting Kansas earlier this week. He was reportedly one of Barnes’ top targets in the transfer portal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt went great, man,\u201d Hill told Rocky Top Insider of his visit<\/a>. \u201cThe city of Knoxville has a lot to offer, so coming down here and just seeing what they had to offer was a great experience. Having my family down here and to have that experience overall was a great experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust to see what Rick Barnes had to offer for me and how much he believed in me,\u201d Hill continued. \u201c[Barnes] said he watched a lot of tape on me throughout my games this season. He was really excited. He\u2019s done really well with a lot of great point guards.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hill showed marked improvement in his second year at VCU, earning Atlantic 10<\/a> 6th Man of the Year honors. Hill averaged 15.0 points, on 46.6% shooting from the field, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 25 minutes over 36 appearances for the Rams. He made 2.3 threes a game and improved at getting to the free throw line while compiling shooting splits of 46.6\/37.0\/86.6.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Brianna Paciorka, The Knoxville News\/Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Hill’s Role With The Volunteers<\/h3>\n

Hill is a three-level scorer who scored in double figures in 28 of 36 games this past season. He also had seven games of 20+ points, erupting for a career-high 34 in VCU’s victory over UNC in the first round of the NCAA.<\/p>\n

Hill is a 6-3 combo guard and will likely play both on and off the ball. He is explosive when going downhill with exceptional body control. He competes defensively and has good lateral quickness.<\/p>\n

While Hill came off the bench against VCU, he is slated to start for Tennessee. Barnes may give him the same offensive freedom he gave Los Angeles Lakers wing Dalton Knecht when he played for the Volunteers.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust me being the primary guy that\u2019s going to start our offense, run our offense,\u201d Hill told Volquest this past week about how he fits in Tennessee\u2019s offense. \u201cA lot of ball screening is what I like to do. His offense is really predicated around his point guard, and even him talking about me being off the ball and getting some easier shots with the guys coming in, I think was a big value for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barnes has gone hard in improving the Vols in the transfer portal, as Hill is the fourth player who can play in the backcourt. The Vols committed 437 turnovers, which ranked 328th in the nation. Dai Dai Ames<\/a>, Jalen Haralson<\/a>, and Tyler Lundblade<\/a> are the other players who can play the 1-3. Meanwhile, 6-10 big Miles Rubin<\/a> is the frontcourt transfer.<\/p>\n

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Tennessee Roster Is Becoming Clearer<\/h3>\n

Barnes has transformed the Volunteers into a true national title threat. While Tennessee has never reached the Final Four, the Vols have advanced to the Elite Eight in each of the last three seasons. The Vols have compiled a 72-29 record and won the 2024 SEC regular season title. Barnes owns a 257-121 record with the Vols, guiding them to five Sweet 16 appearances.<\/p>\n

Tennessee likely won’t have nine players from this past season’s team that went 25-12 and finished fourth in the SEC at 11-7. Barnes knew he would have to replace starters Ja’Kobi Gillspie and Felix Okpara, as both players are no longer eligible. If star freshman Nate Ament leaves for the NBA, the Volunteers will have an entirely new starting five for 2026-27. Ament has until April 24 to make his decision.<\/p>\n

Part-time starters Bishop Boswell and J.P. Estrella are among six players who have entered the transfer portal. Boswell (Maryland), Estrella (Michigan), Amari Allen (Texas), Jaylen Carey (Missouri), and Cade Phillips (Texas A&M) are transfers who have found new homes. Clarence Massamba, who appeared in 12 games as a freshman, is the only player not to land somewhere.<\/p>\n

As it stands, Tennessee has 14 players on its roster, though two are non-scholarship players. Sophomore guard Ethan Burg, who saw 10 minutes a game over 31 appearances, is still on the roster, though he hasn’t yet confirmed his commitment to the Vols.<\/p>\n

If Burg and Ament do indeed return, then the Vols likely won’t add anyone else. The Volunteers have secured four incoming freshmen as part of their 2026 recruiting class: 6-8 forward Ralph Scott (signed), 6-6 wing Manny Green (signed), 6-1 point guard Marquis Clark (signed), and 6-9 forward Christopher Washington Jr.<\/p>\n

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Volunteers Interested In Juke Harris<\/h3>\n

Tennessee is reportedly heavily involved in the recruitment of Wake Forest guard Juke Harris<\/a>. Harris, the consensus No. 88 player in the 2024 class, grew his game exponentially this past season. The 2025-26 ACC Most Improved Player averaged 21.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals.<\/p>\n

Harris is in the transfer portal and is also testing the NBA waters. Harris is currently considered a late-first-to-early second-round selection. So, he may stay in the draft.<\/p>\n

Tennessee was highly involved in Harris’ recruitment out of high school, Tipton said a few days ago<\/a>. So, it is not a surprise that the Vols are still interested in the 6-7 wing. Michigan<\/a> and North Carolina<\/a> are the other serious contenders for his services.<\/p>\n

“Atop Tennessee\u2019s transfer portal board is Wake Forest guard Juke Harris,” On3’s Pete Nakos said on April 15<\/a>. “The Vols, along with Michigan and North Carolina, are working to land a commitment from the No. 3 available player in the portal. Speaking with multiple sources on Tuesday, there is growing confidence that Tennessee can close this out.<\/p>\n

“Harris is expected to land a deal north of $3 million, which Tennessee is ready to pay,” Nakos continues. “Barnes and Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes are also friendly, which could work in the Vols\u2019 favor.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tennessee Volunteers have been among the best programs over the last year. It doesn’t appear that Rick Barnes has any intention of allowing the Volunteers to fall from the top of the ledger in the near future. Barnes received a fifth transfer commitment this spring, earlier today. According to Joe Tipton of On3, VCU […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":190949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,773,62,556,3],"tags":[3772,3116,1436,1763],"class_list":["post-190592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-college-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-news","tag-college-basketball-recruiting","tag-nba-draft-prospect","tag-sec-basketball","tag-tennessee-volunteers"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190592"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190950,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190592\/revisions\/190950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}