KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team continues Wednesday its preseason preparations ahead of the 2025-26 slate, traveling to Birmingham’s Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook for the annual SEC Tipoff.
The Volunteers will be represented by 11th-year head coach Rick Barnes, as well as senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, senior forward Felix Okpara and junior forward Cade Phillips.
SEC Network will provide full coverage throughout the day. Barnes will be at the main stage at 11:50 a.m. ET, followed by Gillespie, Okpara and Phillips at 12:15 p.m. ET. Okpara and Phillips will be on the SEC Network set at 1:05 p.m. ET.
Last season, Barnes’ team amassed 30 victories and reached the Elite Eight, the first time in program history that both such feats were accomplished in the same season. The Volunteers produced a 30-8 (12-6 SEC) record, made the NCAA Regional Final for the second year in a row (third time ever) and played in the SEC Tournament title game for the fourth time in the last seven opportunities (14th time ever). Tennessee tied the program record by finishing fifth in the final AP Poll.
Gillespie was a Third Team All-Big Ten honoree last year at Maryland, where he averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 31.6 minutes per game. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound native of Greeneville, Tenn., notched a 45.3 percent clip from the field, a 40.7 percent mark from beyond the arc and shot 86.2 percent at the line. He was named a Preseason Second Team All-SEC pick Monday by the league’s media.
Okpara, one of just three players to start every game for the Big Orange in the 2024-25 season and the only returning starter from last year’s squad, enters his senior season as the top returning scorer for Barnes’ club. He managed a 58.9 percent clip from the field and a 71.9 percent rate from the line. Known for his defensive prowess, the Nigerian big man mustered an impressive 64 blocks, the third most in the SEC last season and tied for fourth most in a season in program history.
Phillips, like Okpara, competed in all 38 games for the Vols last season, coming off of the bench in every contest, averaging 15 minutes per game. He shot a sharp 63.0 percent from the field, the best clip of any player with at least 10 attempts. He averaged 4.6 points per game. Now one of the three longest-tenured players for the Vols, Phillips serves as Tennessee’s representative to the SEC Men’s Basketball Leadership Council.
Tennessee checked in at No. 18 nationally in Monday’s preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll, as well as third in the media’s SEC preseason poll.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
