KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee head men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Monday the addition of Terrence Hill Jr.
A 2025-26 First Team All-A-10 choice at VCU, Hill comes to Rocky Top as a junior guard with two years of eligibility left.
“Terrence comes from a great family and we are pleased to welcome them all to the Tennessee basketball program. He is a focused, mature and committed person who possesses clear leadership qualities,” Barnes said. “We are bringing Terrence here to make an immediate, significant impact and we feel great about his ability to do so. He is a dynamic player with speed, quickness, a strong basketball IQ and extreme confidence. Terrence can separate off the bounce and can put the ball in the basket from all three levels. He will mesh well with the way we run our offense.”
Along with his first-team accolades, Hill was tabbed both the A-10 Most Improved Player and the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year last season as a sophomore. He averaged 15.0 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game, leading VCU in the first two categories, and garnered NABC First Team All-East District plaudits.
Hill shot 46.6 percent from the floor, 37.0 percent beyond the arc and 84.4 percent at the line and was one of just 19 Division I players (min. 15 GP, 2 3PM/gm, 2 FTM/gm) to post a 46/36/84 shooting line last year, including the only one in the A-10. He ranked top-10 in the league in made 3-pointers (81; fourth), made field goals (172; eighth), made free throws (114; ninth), free-throw percentage (ninth) and scoring average (No. 10), plus led the A-10 in conference play (min. 1.5 APG) with a 3.16 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder appeared in all 36 games for the Rams and led VCU to its first NCAA Tournament victory in 10 years by dropping a career-best 34 points in an 82-78 overtime win March 19 against No. 21 North Carolina. He went 13-of-23 from the floor and 7-of-10 from deep, both career highs in makes, versus the sixth-seeded Tar Heels, adding five rebounds and five assists to help his team rally from a 19-point deficit.
Hill is one of just 17 players—21 instances—ever to notch 34 points, five rebounds and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game and the first to do so since Providence’s Bryce Cotton on March 21, 2014. He is one of two players to make seven 3-pointers on that list, which includes names such as Larry Bird, Bill Bradley, Austin Carr, Glen Rice, Mitch Richmond, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West.
The Portland native scored at least a dozen points on 28 occasions last season, reaching 16-plus 16 times and 20-plus in seven contests. Hill had at least four assists in nine appearances, with six-plus in three and a high of eight in Jan. 19 win over St. Joseph’s. Hill hit multiple 3-pointers 25 times, with three-plus in 11 contests and five-plus in three.
Hill played a reserve role for VCU as a freshman in 2024-25, notching 3.4 points in 6.3 minutes per game. He twice scored 13-plus points and twice made multiple 3-pointers. In addition, he went 17-of-17 at the line, the most makes without a miss in a single season by a Ram in program history.
Over his two years with the Rams, Hill averaged 10.5 points, 1.8 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game. He helped VCU win 28 games each year he was there, the program’s top mark since 2011-12.
Coming out of high school, Hill was a three-star recruit according to both ESPN and Rivals, the latter of which ranked him No. 149 nationally. The former, meanwhile, labeled him the third-best prospect in Oregon.
As a senior at Roosevelt High School, Hill won Portland Interscholastic League Player of the Year and was named OSAA 6A First Team All-State. He tallied 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. Hill aided the team to a 26-3 record, a district championship and a spot in the 6A state title game. He was named an OSAA 6A First Team All-Tournament designee.
Prior to spending his junior season at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., Hill was an OSAA 6A Second Team All-State selection as a sophomore at Roosevelt. He played for the NW Rotary Rebels on the AAU circuit.
The Volunteers do not have any prior letter winners from Oregon or any other state in the Pacific Northwest region.
A consensus top-25 player in the transfer portal, Hill is ranked No. 13 by The Athletic, No. 16 by Field of 68, No. 18 by 247Sports and No. 24 by On3.
Hill is the fourth transfer to sign with the Volunteers this month, joining MVC Player of the Year Tyler Lundblade, two-time All-A-10 Defensive Team honoree Miles Rubin and Third Team All-ACC designee Dai Dai Ames. Tennessee is also set to bring in four high school recruits in Marquis Clark, Manny Green, Ralph Scott and Chris Washington Jr.
