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

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."

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.

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.