Tennessee lands commitment from former Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey

Post depth secured.

You had probably heard this rumor for the better part of a week, and now it comes true. Former Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey has committed to Tennessee out of the transfer portal.

Carey made things official late on Sunday night.

The 6-8 big man will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. He came to Vanderbilt last offseason, following head coach Mark Byington from James Madison. Carey averaged just over 20 minutes per game last season for the Commodores, putting up eight points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He averaged seven points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a freshman at James Madison.

Carey figures to slide into the frontcourt rotation for Tennessee, which was an area that majorly lacked depth this season. Rick Barnes was down to Felix Okpara, Igor Milicic and Cade Phillips in the post with JP Estrella sidelined for the season. Carey will replace the scholarship of the outgoing Milicic and could battle with Phillips for a starting role next season.

Okpara announced his return last week and will continue to play the center spot next season. Assuming Estrella is able to return, Tennessee will have a solid four-man rotation in the post, along with the addition of four-star big man DeWayne Brown.

Carey joins former Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie in Tennessee’s current portal class. With point guard and front court depth solved, all attention going forward turns to shooting guard and wings. Tennessee needs shooting — a lot of it — following the departure of Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey.

We should see plenty of movement this week as the portal continues to churn.