Vols add Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey via the transfer portal

Vanderbilt Athletics photo / Tennessee has added former Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey through the NCAA transfer portal. The 6-foot-8, 265-pounder racked up 32 points and 17 rebounds in his two meetings against the Volunteers this past season. Vanderbilt Athletics photo / Tennessee has added former Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey through the NCAA transfer portal. The 6-foot-8, 265-pounder racked up 32 points and 17 rebounds in his two meetings against the Volunteers this past season.

By David Paschall April 7, 2025 3 min read

Tennessee essentially played the entire 2024-25 basketball season with two traditional forwards, Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips.

That will not be the case in 2025-26.

The Volunteers have received a commitment from 6-foot-8, 265-pound forward Jaylen Carey, who was a sophomore at Vanderbilt this past season before recently entering the NCAA transfer portal. Carey averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Commodores, who went 20-13 and reached the NCAA tournament in Mark Byington’s first season.

Carey played his freshman year at James Madison under Byington, averaging 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds on a 32-4 Dukes team that reached the NCAA tourney’s second round, before following him to Nashville. He was especially impressive this past season against Tennessee, compiling 14 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes during Vanderbilt’s 76-75 victory in Nashville on Jan. 18.

In the rematch, an 81-76 Tennessee triumph in Knoxville on Feb. 15, Carey tallied 18 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes.

David Paschall

David Paschall has covered sports at the Chattanooga Times Free Press since 1999 and wrote for the Chattanooga Free Press in the nine years before that. David has mostly covered college athletics, with a focus on the University of Georgia from 2000 to 2019 and the University of Tennessee since 2020. He grew up in Chattanooga and is a graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received multiple writing awards and has served as a Heisman Trophy voter since 2003. He has also worked in radio in Chattanooga and has been on the SEC Network's "Classic Rewind" series since 2014. David and his wife, Kelly, have three children — Conner, Emily and Spencer.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.