Tennessee adds portal transfer from in-state rival Vandy with Jaylen Carey

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Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey (22) reacts in the first half against the Saint Mary’s in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

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Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is seen on the sidelines during the second half in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Houston Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Tennessee Volunteers have added forward Jaylen Carey from Vanderbilt through the transfer portal for their second new player in as many days.

Coach Rick Barnes announced Carey’s arrival Tuesday with two seasons of eligibility left. Carey spent this past season at Vanderbilt after following coach Mark Byington from James Madison to the Southeastern Conference. Carey helped Vanderbilt make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

“Jaylen is a physical power forward with versatility who can play with his back to the basket or face up,” Barnes said. “He is a proven SEC competitor with excellent hands, superb offensive instincts, quality passing ability and a strong feel for the game. Jaylen’s style will complement the post players we already have and we cannot wait to get to work with him.”

Arizona State big man Jayden Quaintance is headed to another SEC school, transferring to Kentucky, where he originally committed before coach John Calipari left for Arkansas.

The 6-foot-8, 265-pound Carey averaged 8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 21.9 minutes in 18 SEC games, and he had seven of his 11 double-digit scoring games against league opponents. His father, Vernon Sr., was the 19th pick overall in the 2004 NFL draft and played eight seasons with Miami. His brother Vernon Jr. was an All-American at Duke before becoming the No. 32 pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

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Two of Jaylen Carey’s best games came against Tennessee. Carey had 14 points and 10 rebounds on Jan. 18 as Vanderbilt beat then-No. 6 Tennessee in Nashville. Then the power forward tied his career high with 18 points and added seven rebounds and three assists in Knoxville.

Tennessee (30-8) finished the NCAA Tournament by losing to eventual national runner-up Houston in the Elite Eight and ranked fifth in the final Top 25 poll. Barnes announced the addition of Ja’Kobi Gillespie, a 6-foot-1 guard from Maryland on Monday.

One of the highest-rated recruits in Arizona State history, Quaintance averaged 9.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and was one of the nation’s best shot blockers at 2.6 per game. The athletic 6-foot-10 sophomore has been projected as an NBA lottery pick when he leaves college basketball.

Quaintance had surgery for a torn ACL last month.

In other portal news, Wisconsin announced that it has signed former San Diego State guard Nick Boyd, who earned second-team all-Mountain West Conference honors this season while averaging 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Boyd spent his first three seasons at Florida Atlantic and was on the Owls’ 2023 Final Four team.

Wisconsin already had added former Virginia guard Andrew Rohde and former Portland forward Austin Rapp out of the portal.

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