Where Tennessee basketball players are ranked in the NCAA Transfer Portal
The Tennessee Basketball roster is currently going through a major offseason overhaul, with the Vols sitting on six open scholarship spots less than a month removed from their run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Three fifth-year seniors started the transition with the Dalton Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi all departing the program having exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Over the last two weeks, four players entered the NCAA Transfer Portal: Jonas Aidoo, Tobe Awaka, Freddie Dilione and DJ Jefferson.
Tennessee next season is set to add four-star Charlotte, N.C., point guard Bishop Boswell, who signed in November, as well as Hofstra wing Darlinstone Dubar, the transfer who both committed to and signed the Vols last week.
Here’s a look where Tennessee’s outgoing players rank in the NCAA Transfer Portal according to the On3 Industry Ranking, with their rankings in the On3 ratings in parenthesis:
No. 8 Jonas Aidoo (5)
Aidoo was arguably Tennessee’s most improved player this season, but he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 11. He took a visit to Baylor over the weekend, is being recruited by North Carolina and has been contacted by Kentucky. Aidoo started every game, averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game.
No. 143 Freddie Dilione V (281)
Dilione entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 4. The former four-star shooting guard in the 2022 recruiting class was never able to consistently crack the rotation this season. He enrolled at Tennessee in January 2023, sitting out as a redshirt for the second half of last season, but rarely saw the floor during his redshirt freshman season. Dilione, a Fayetteville, N.C., native, has visited North Carolina State during his portal recruitment. He was ranked No. 44 overall as a recruit and was the No. 3 shooting guard and the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina in 2022.
No. 146 Tobe Awaka (96)
The sophomore power forward the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 9. He continued to progress as a sophomore, averaging 5.1 points, 4.6 rebound and 0.6 blocks in 12.9 minutes per game, coming off the bench in 33 games this season and playing some of his best minutes of the season in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game as a freshman. Tennessee is open to Awaka returning to the Vols, but he has not yet announced his decision.
Not Ranked: DJ Jefferson
Jefferson the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 8. Another former four-star prospect in the 2022 class that never found his footing at Tennessee. Jefferson’s only appearance this season was in the season-opening win over Tennessee Tech. The Richardson, Texas, native was ranked No. 89 overall, No. 25 among small forwards and No. 1 in the state of Minnesota, out of Minnesota Preparatory Academy.
