Tennessee

Look: SEC Tournament bracket set with Tennessee as the No. 4 seed

Published

9 months ago

March 9, 2025

Tennessee will face either Texas A&M, Vanderbilt or Texas in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Vols are the No. 4 seed, awaiting No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 12 Vanderbilt or No. 13 Texas.

The SEC Tournament bracket was officially set Saturday night, with Tennessee scheduled to play at approximately 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time Friday on ESPN.

No. 12 Vanderbilt and No. 13 Texas play Wednesday at approximately 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on SEC Network. The winner advances to face No. 5 Texas A&M at the same time Thursday on SEC Network.

Tennessee beat Texas 74-70 at Texas on January 11, won 77-69 at Texas A&M on February 22 and split the regular-season series with Vanderbilt, losing 76-75 in Nashville on January 18 and winning 81-76 in Knoxville on February 15.

Tennessee clinched the No. 4 seed with the 75-65 Senior Day win over South Carolina at Food City Center on Saturday and with No. 7 Alabama beating No. 1 Auburn in overtime at Neville Arena in Auburn.

Auburn is the No. 1 seed and will face either No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 9 Arkansas or No. 16 South Carolina. Florida is the No. 2 seed on the bottom half of the bracket and will play No. 7 Missouri, No. 10 Mississippi State or No. 15 LSU. Alabama is the No. 3 seed and will play either No. 6 Kentucky, No. 11 Georgia or No. 14 Oklahoma.

Vols finished 12-6 in SEC play, won eight of final 10

Tennessee finished 12-6 in SEC play, winning eight of its final 10 games of the regular season, dating back to the 64-44 win over Florida on February 1.

The only losses over the last five weeks were at Kentucky on February 11 and at Ole Miss on Wednesday. Tennessee lost three road games in conference play by a combined five points, falling 76-75 at Vanderbilt, 53-51 at Auburn and the two-point loss at Ole Miss.

Tennessee started the season by tying a program record with a 14-0 start, including a 76-52 win over Arkansas to start SEC play on January 4. The Vols lost four of their next four of their next seven over three weeks.

Tennessee’s history in the SEC Tournament under Rick Barnes

Tennessee won the SEC Tournament in 2022 — the program’s first conference tournament championship since 1979 — after beating Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M over three days in Tampa.

The Vols played for the SEC Tournament title in both 2018 and 2019, losing to Kentucky in 2018 in St. Louis and to Auburn a year later in Nashville.

Tennessee was one-and-done in the SEC Tournament a year ago, losing 73-56 to Mississippi State before going on an NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight.

The Vols lost in the quarterfinals to Missouri in 2023, after beating Ole Miss a day earlier, and went to the semifinals in 2021 before losing to Alabama.

Tennessee played three games in the 2016 SEC Tournament, in the first year under Rick Barnes, beating Auburn and Vanderbilt before losing to LSU in the quarterfinals as the No. 12 seed. The Vols were one-and-done in 2017 after a loss to Georgia in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed game.

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Tennessee

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Published

11 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Tennessee football will host Lane Kiffin, Alex Golesh and possibly Arch Manning at Neyland Stadium in the 2026 season.

UT’s opponents for the next four seasons were previously announced. On Dec. 11, the SEC released the dates of every conference game, providing the full picture of the 2026 schedule.

Game times and television designations will be announced later.

Texas will make its first trip ever to Tennessee on Sept. 26. Manning, the Longhorns quarterback, is expected to return for the 2026 season rather than enter the NFL draft. If so, he’ll face the Vols on the home turf of his uncle, legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.

Golesh, the former UT offensive coordinator, is Auburn’s new coach. He will return to Knoxville for an Oct. 3 game.

Alabama will play at Tennessee on Oct. 17, continuing their Third Saturday in October rivalry game.

Kiffin, the polarizing former UT coach, is now coaching LSU after bolting Ole Miss after the regular season ended. He will return to Knoxville for a Nov. 21 game. Three of the five SEC teams visiting Neyland Stadium will have a first-year coach, including Kentucky’s Will Stein on Nov. 7.

Tennessee will play Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt as annual SEC opponents in the league’s new nine-game conference schedule. Its other six opponents will rotate each season. That means each school will play every SEC opponent home and away every four years.

Tennessee will have one open week on Oct. 31 and thus won’t play on Halloween.

Here is Tennessee’s week-to-week schedule for the 2026 season.

Tennessee football 2026 schedule

Sept. 5: Furman
Sept. 12: At Georgia Tech
Sept. 19: Kennesaw State
Sept. 26: Texas*
Oct. 3: Auburn*
Oct. 10: At Arkansas*
Oct. 17: Alabama*
Oct. 24: At South Carolina*
Oct. 31: Open
Nov. 7: Kentucky*
Nov. 14: At Texas A&M*
Nov. 21: LSU*
Nov. 28: At Vanderbilt*

*SEC game

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Tennessee

Dragos Cazacu signs with Tennessee

Published

23 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee announced the signing of graduate student Dragos Cazacu on Wednesday. He is from Constanta, Romania.

“Dragos is someone we believe can translate all of his professional experience and success seamlessly to high level college tennis,” Tennessee associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “He’s a very mature young man who has finished university in Romania, so we know the type of student athlete we are getting. Winning ITF Pro Circuit titles, all while doing his degree back home shows he will transition nicely to Tennessee in January.”

Cazacu competed on the ATP Tour prior to Tennessee. His highest ranking was No. 763 in singles and No. 495 in doubles.

Tennessee will begin its spring men’s tennis season versus ETSU on Jan. 9, 2026 at Goodfriend Tennis Center. SEC competition will begin Feb. 21, 2026 at Kentucky.

The Vols’ home opener in SEC play is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2026 versus Auburn at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

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Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, potential top-10 pick, declares for NFL Draft

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, potential top-10 pick, declares for NFL Draft

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy announced Wednesday that he will enter the 2026 NFL Draft. McCoy is a potential top-10 pick in this draft class, despite having missed the entire 2025 season with a knee injury.

A transfer from Oregon State following the 2023 season, McCoy earned first-team All-SEC and second-team All-America honors following his first season at Tennessee, in which he registered four interceptions, nine pass breakups and 44 tackles. However, McCoy suffered an ACL injury in January and did not take the field during the Volunteers’ regular season.

“(E)ven though my time on the field was cut short,” McCoy wrote in a statement shared on social media, “I will forever be grateful for my time here at the University of Tennessee. It has been a true honor, and I’m appreciative for every moment I had in the orange and white.”

McCoy (6 feet, 195 pounds) will be one of the most closely scrutinized prospects during the pre-draft cycle, as interested teams wait to see what his updated medical reports reveal.

The junior ranked No. 9 (and as the No. 1 cornerback) on Dane Brugler’s most recent draft board. He was the 16th pick, by Dallas, in Brugler’s mock draft last week.

Dane Brugler’s immediate reaction

A prospect carrying first-round tape from 2024 but no tape from 2025 is not ideal. That said, McCoy will be more than a year removed from his ACL injury when NFL team doctors examine his knee at the combine in February 2026, to (hopefully) verify full health and no long-term concerns.

The timing of his injury could turn out to be something of a positive, because McCoy should be able to work out and test at some point before the draft, giving him a chance to remind teams why he was considered a potential top-10 pick after last season.

LSU’s Mansoor Delane closed ground with his senior season — he’s made a strong case to be CB1 in this class. But McCoy is very much still in that conversation, assuming the medicals come back clean.

HOW DID HE COME UP WITH THIS? 😲
Tennessee shuts down Vandy in the end zone ❌ pic.twitter.com/aUHZeAWC8i
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 30, 2024
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Nick Baumgardner’s scouting report

McCoy was in a really tough spot. A case certainly could’ve been made for McCoy to return to college next year, as he’s played only one full season as a starter in the SEC. And though his 2024 season was pretty great, that performance and 400 or so snaps at Oregon State are all we have to go on here.

Physically, though, McCoy is everything you look for in a high-first-round cornerback. He’s big with very quick feet, natural instincts and terrific ball skills in coverage. Despite not playing a snap this season, McCoy still stacks up as an easy first-rounder on this year’s board, largely because of his physical potential.

Testing will be critical here, and I’m eager to see if McCoy is healthy enough to compete in either the Senior Bowl or Shrine Bowl. He should do as much as he can. We saw a talented player in a similar situation last year when now-Cardinals rookie corner Will Johnson tumbled down the board after not testing or taking part in anything physical during the pre-draft process.

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