The Tennessee men’s basketball team has received national recognition from the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, coming in at sixth nationally in its preseason top-25 rankings.
Rick Barnes‘ Vols—picked by Blue Ribbon to win the SEC—are the highest-ranked SEC squad in the poll, ahead of Arkansas (8), Kentucky (11), Texas A&M (17), Alabama (19) and Mississippi State (20).
It marks the fourth consecutive year in which Tennessee has appeared in the top 10 of Blue Ribbon’s preseason poll.
The annual Yearbook also recognized Tennessee fifth-year senior Santiago Vescovi as a preseason fourth-team All-American. Additionally, Vescovi was included on the preseason all-conference team by Blue Ribbon.
Last season, the Montevideo, Uruguay, native finished the year as Tennessee’s leader in scoring (12.5 ppg), minutes played (33.0 mpg), 3-pointers made (91) and attempted (246) and total steals (60). For the season, he shot .370 from 3-point range and owned a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
A 2023 first-team All-SEC selection, Vescovi led the Vols in scoring 12 times, rebounding seven times, assists 13 times and steals 15 times last season.
For the second straight year in 2022-23, he finished SEC regular-season play as the league leader in 3-point percentage, shooting .387 (46 of 119).
Entering his final season of eligibility on Rocky Top, Vescovi ranks third in program history in career 3-pointers made (282) and career 3-point makes per game (2.47)—trailing only Chris Lofton and Allan Houston in both categories.
His 1,318 career points rank 27th on Tennessee’s all-time scoring list.
BLUE RIBBON SEC FORECAST
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- Texas A&M
- Alabama
- Mississippi State
- Missouri
- Auburn
- Florida
- Ole Miss
- LSU
- Vanderbilt
- Georgia
- South Carolina
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
F – Johni Broome, JR, Auburn
C – Tolu Smith, GR, Mississippi State
G – Antonio Reese, SR, Kentucky
G – Santiago Vescovi, SR, Tennessee
G – Wade Taylor IV, JR, Texas A&M