Tennessee sophomore power forward Tobe Awaka entering NCAA Transfer Portal
Tennessee basketball’s Tobe Awaka is entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound sophomore power forward averaged 5.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 13.0 minutes per game over 35 games during his second season with the Vols.
Three Tennessee players have now entered the portal since the season ended with the Elite Eight loss to Purdue on March 31. Redshirt freshman guard Freddie Dilione V entered the portal on Thursday and redshirt freshman wing DJ Jefferson entered the portal on Monday.
Awaka played some of his best basketball when it mattered most, in the NCAA Tournament. He totaled 25 points and 18 rebounds over four games against Saint Peter’s, Texas, Creighton and Purdue.
Awaka had 10 points and five rebounds in just 11 minutes against Texas in the second round at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
“I think my mindset going into the game was just play aggressive but composed,” Awaka said after the win over the Longhorns, helping send the Vols to the Sweet 16. “I obviously picked up a few wild fouls, but still I just wanted to maintain my aggressiveness.”
He had five points and five rebounds in 21 minutes in the Sweet 16 win over Creighton at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. He had two points and four rebounds in 14 minutes in the season-ending loss to Purdue in the Elite Eight, fouling out after dealing with foul trouble most of the game against Purdue’s Zach Edey.
Tennessee has forwards Jonas Aidoo, a rising senior, as well as JP Estrella and Cade Phillips, two rising sophomores, currently on roster for next season.
Awaka scored a career-high 18 points and added 10 rebounds in a win at Missouri on February 20, helping the Vols rally in the second half. He followed it with 12 points in a home win over Texas A&M four days later. He had a season-high 12 rebounds in a December win over North Carolina State in San Antonio.
Awaka averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game last season while shooting 61.1% from the field this season.
He was a former three-star prospect in the 2022 signing class out of Cardinal Hayes High School in The Bronx, N.Y. He was a product of the same New York Lightning AAU program that produced Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler, another New York native.
Awaka was ranked No. 303 overall in the class. He was the No. 63 power forward in the country and the No. 4 overall prospect in the state of New York. He averaged 19.3 points and 13.9 rebounds in his final season at Cardinal Hayes.
He was a late addition to Tennessee’s 2022 signing class, signing with the Vols on July 1, 2022.
