Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols receive some unexpected transfer portal news

Rick Barnes and his staff are essentially rebuilding the Tennessee Vols’ roster this offseason. After coming up one game short of the Final Four three years in a row, the Vols are committed to building a championship roster.

Zach Ragan Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols received some unexpected transfer portal news on Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier this week, news broke that Vols true freshman guard Troy Henderson was planning to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Henderson, 6-foot-1/186 pounds from Richmond, VA, played in 28 games for the Volunteers this past season and averaged 1.8 points per game while playing 6.8 minutes per game. He was rated as a three-star guard in the 2025 recruiting class.

On Wednesday, Henderson apparently changed his mind.

Troy Henderson is reportedly returning to Tennessee for the 2026-27 season

According to a report from VolQuest’s Mike Wilson, Henderson has reversed course and decided to stay at Tennessee.

The Vols have suffered some key departures this week, with forward J.P. Estrella, forward Jaylen Carey, guard Bishop Boswell, guard Clarence Massamba, and forward Cade Phillips all entering the transfer portal.

Henderson is the second Vol who’s decided to stick around for another season.

On Tuesday, forward Dwayne Brown announced that he plans to return to Tennessee next season.

Brown, 6-foot-8/251 pounds, averaged 4.8 points per game as a freshman while averaging 14.7 minutes per game. The Alabama native played in 35 games with 10 starts for the Vols.

Henderson and Brown join Belmont graduate transfer guard Tyler Lundblade as players who are locked in to play for the Volunteers in 2026-27.