---
title: "Rick Barnes Leads Tennessee Contingent to SEC Tipoff"
url: https://www.hereknoxville.com/2026/10/13/rick-barnes-tennessee-sec-tipoff-birmingham/
date: 2026-10-13T10:01:16-04:00
modified: 2026-10-13T10:01:16-04:00
author: "HERE City State Desk"
categories: ["Sports"]
site: "HEREKnoxville"
attribution: "HEREKnoxville"
---

# Rick Barnes Leads Tennessee Contingent to SEC Tipoff

> BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tennessee men basketball continues preseason work Tuesday at SEC Tipoff 27 in Birmingham, with 12th-year coach Rick Barnes and three players representing the Volunteers on the SEC Network stage. Barnes is scheduled to speak on the main stage at 5:50 p.m. Eastern Time, followed at 6:05 p.m. by sophomore forward DeWayne Brown

*Source: [HEREKnoxville](https://www.hereknoxville.com/2026/10/13/rick-barnes-tennessee-sec-tipoff-birmingham/) — October 13, 2026 by HERE City State Desk*

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tennessee men basketball continues preseason work Tuesday at SEC Tipoff 27 in Birmingham, with 12th-year coach Rick Barnes and three players representing the Volunteers on the SEC Network stage.

Barnes is scheduled to speak on the main stage at 5:50 p.m. Eastern Time, followed at 6:05 p.m. by sophomore forward DeWayne Brown II, junior guard Terrence Hill Jr. and sixth-year guard Tyler Lundblade. SEC Network plans full coverage, and coach news conferences stream on SEC Network Plus and the conference streaming app.

Last season Tennessee went 25-12 and 11-7 in the SEC, reached the Elite Eight for the third straight year and finished No. 12 nationally for a fifth consecutive top-20 finish. Barnes enters the year with 861 career victories, 10th in Division I history and second among active coaches.

The roster includes 13 new players. Brown, a Hoover, Ala., native, played all 37 games last season with 10 starts, averaging 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 58.6 percent. Peers voted him vice chair of the 2026-27 SEC Men Basketball Leadership Council. Hill averaged 15.0 points at VCU last season as a First Team All-Atlantic 10 pick. Lundblade averaged 15.6 points at Belmont, shot 40.6 percent from three and 93.4 percent at the line.

Tennessee is one of eight teams featured Tuesday alongside Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Vols host Xavier in an exhibition Thursday in Knoxville, play at Duke on Oct. 20 and open the regular season Nov. 3 against Wofford at Food City Center.