Rick Barnes losing one of his ‘defensive ends’ to the transfer portal
The Tennessee Vols were very good on the glass and in the paint during the 2025-26 season, and a physical and deep frontcourt had a lot to do with that. Between Felix Okpara, JP Estrella, Jaylen Carey, and DeWayne Brown II, Tennessee held an advantage more often than not around the basket. Regarding the latter […]
The Tennessee Vols were very good on the glass and in the paint during the 2025-26 season, and a physical and deep frontcourt had a lot to do with that.
Between Felix Okpara, JP Estrella, Jaylen Carey, and DeWayne Brown II, Tennessee held an advantage more often than not around the basket. Regarding the latter two, Carey and Brown earned a comparison to defensive ends from Auburn head coach Steven Pearl during the season.
Well, it looks like Rick Barnes won’t have both of his ends back next season. Per multiple outlets, Carey is entering the transfer portal.
Tennessee forward Jaylen Carey to enter transfer portal
Carey started his career with James Madison in the 2023-24 season, where he averaged 7.0 points per game before transferring to Vanderbilt last year. He made the trek down I-40 last offseason to Knoxville and averaged 7.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game off the bench for the Vols this year. Now, he’s on the move again.
Carey is the player that, according to Barnes himself, he was the hardest on during the season.
“I’m really happy because if I put all the chips on the table, I have been after Jaylen harder than anybody all year, anybody,” Barnes said in his postgame press conference after Tennessee’s win over Iowa State. “There’s days he looked at me like, ‘man, this dude is crazy’. But he never said a word. Kept going. He does what he needs to do.”
Carey becomes the fourth player for Tennessee to declare their intentions to enter the transfer portal on Monday. He joins forwards J.P. Estrella and Cade Phillips and guards Bishop Boswell and Clarence Massamba as players on their way out of town.
Players who have not made any declaration yet include Brown, Amari Evans, Ethan Burg, Troy Henderson, Gavin Paull, and Campbell Duncan. Nate Ament’s decision on returning or heading to the NBA is also pending.
Nashville
Final shoe just dropped on Lady Vols’ miserable 2026, and it’s created an unprecedented disaster in Knoxville
The last shoe fell from the closet of the Lady Vols’ locker room on Monday morning, and it was in the form of guard Jaida Civil. The sole remaining player on the Lady Vols’ roster from last season will be, it appears, indeed leaving the Tennessee program, along with the rest of players who are […]
