Tennessee Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Volunteers

Key Reserves

Guard – Bishop Boswell (Freshman)

A 4-star point guard out of Charlotte, Boswell is the most significant freshman addition for the Volunteers this season. He’ll certainly be part of the future plans for the Volunteers, perhaps as Zeigler’s successor, with the chance to earn minutes right away as the backup. He’s shown potential as a defender, which earns respect fast in this Tennessee system, and can also shoot the ball with efficiency.

Guard – Jordan Gainey (Senior)

Gainey is a combo guard who had a pair of stellar seasons at USC Upstate before landing with the Volunteers last season. He averaged 6.8 points with some shooting struggles, but settled into a role as the sixth man for the Volunteers. Now more settled into this system, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gainey’s role rise, especially with his familiarity and experience; he’ll just need to work on his consistency on offense.

Forward – Cade Phillips (Sophomore)

Phillips is a 6’9 forward from Alabama who didn’t see the court a lot last season as a freshman. He scored just 12 points on the season, playing in just 13 games with very limited opportunities. With a whole year of work, Phillips could carve out a more significant role as a backup in the frontcourt, especially with all the pieces that graduated or transferred in the offseason.

Forward – J. P. Estrella (Sophomore)

Another freshman with limited impact last season, Estrella will hope to make greater strides as a sophomore. He was a Top 60 prospect last year but averaged just 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds in limited opportunities as a backup big. With those aforementioned changes on the roster, don’t be shocked seeing Estrella in a much more important role as the backup center.

Guard – Jahmai Mashack (Senior)

You could argue that he hasn’t lived up to his billing as a Top 75 prospect, but Mashack has for the most part done what’s expected of him. He’s an incredible defensive guard who’s coming off a season where he put up 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He’s mostly come off the bench, aside from injury relief, and should fill an important role on both sides of the ball in his fourth year in Knoxville.

Guard – Cameron Carr (Sophomore)

With the talent that Tennessee had last season, it’s not shocking to see that Carr was another highly-touted freshman who took a back seat. He averaged just 1.6 points and 0.6 rebounds as a backup for the Volunteers, but should take a major step forward with more chances and opportunity to grow for Tennessee, especially as an outside shooter.