New report confirms what was suspected about the Tennessee Vols’ pursuit of Wake Forest transfer guard Juke Harris
The Tennessee Volunteers are hoping to land Wake Forest Demon Deacons transfer guard Juke Harris, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining after entering the portal earlier this offseason.
A new report this week confirmed what was suspected about Wake Forest Demon Deacons transfer guard Juke Harris, who is the Tennessee Vols’ biggest remaining portal target.
Over the last few weeks, Harris has been pursued by Tennessee, Michigan, and North Carolina.
There’s been speculation this week that Michigan is no longer an option for Harris.
On Friday, On3’s Josh Henschke confirmed that’s the case, tweeting that Michigan has been informed that they’re out of the running for Harris.
Henschke has also predicted that Tennessee will land Harris (UNC has faded in this transfer battle as well).
It sounds like it’s the NBA or Tennessee for Juke Harris
If Harris, 6-foot-7 from Salisbury, NC, returns to college for his junior season, the expectation is that he’ll play for the Vols.
Harris, however, is still considering the NBA Draft.
“He and his agents want to give the NBA a hard look and see where they stand,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price this week on WNML’s Josh and Swain. “And see what feedback they get. If it stays late first or early second round, I just have a tough time seeing him go that route. Now, if they said, ‘Hey, man, you’ve done a tremendous job in the workout process, and you’re going to jump up to a lottery pick’, I think he’d be gone.
“But I think if he stays kind of where everybody’s projecting him, I think there’s a real chance that he comes back to college. I think Tennessee makes the most sense. I think financially and location wise, they kind of hit what he’s looking for in the sweet spot. And I think Tennessee felt like they were in a good place there for a while, and I think Rick Barnes and the entire staff have continued to work him really hard.”
Harris has until May 27 to withdraw from the 2026 NBA Draft. VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs, though, doesn’t think the decision will drag out that long.
“I don’t think we know a timeline,” said Hubbs Friday on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “Obviously he is an early entry into the NBA Draft and is evaluating his draft stock, and then he’ll make a decision after that. Now, every mock draft you see has him somewhere in the second round. Financially, it would make a lot more sense to play another year of college basketball and help your stock there, which is why most people don’t think the NBA Draft is a realistic option for him.
“Now, does he want to go through the pre-draft combine in Chicago and get full feedback from that so that he knows what he needs to work on this offseason? Sure, I think that could be a possibility. I don’t think it drags out until May 27, which is the final day you have to pull your name out of the draft if you want to. But I don’t know that there’s an immediate timeline for anything to happen, but I do think Tennessee has positioned themselves well with Juke Harris. And it feels like it’s more, I guess, maybe a matter of time than anything.”
Harris averaged 21 points per game at Wake Forest last season.