Tennessee Basketball History: SEC Champions, Best Players and Coaches

For the first 30 years of SEC basketball, there was Kentucky — and everybody else.

Tennessee was the first basketball program to seriously and consistently threaten Kentucky’s reign. The Volunteers actually had the upper hand early, until Adolph Rupp’s Wildcats took over.

In 1967, Ray Mears led the Volunteers to the top of the SEC and earned their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Since then, the Vols have collected more SEC regular-season titles, more SEC Tournament titles, risen to No. 1 in the AP Poll, made deep runs in March Madness, produced All-Americans and more.

This page dives into Tennessee’s basketball history.

Has Tennessee Won The NCAA Tournament?

Not yet, but the Vols have reached the Elite Eight three times — first in 2010, then again in 2024 and 2025.

The Vols are still trying to reach the Final Four for the first time.

How Many Times Has Tennessee Won The SEC Tournament?

The Volunteers have won the SEC Tournament five times (1936, 1941, 1943, 1979 and 2022). The SEC Tournament was not played from 1953-1978. The Volunteers won the 1979 title in the first year it returned.

How Many SEC Regular-Season Championships Has Tennessee Won?

The Vols have won or shared the SEC regular-season title 11 times, most recently in 2024.

This is their complete list of SEC regular-season titles: 1936, 1941, 1943, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 2000, 2008, 2018, 2024.

How Many Times Has Tennessee Been Ranked No. 1 in The AP Poll?

The Vols have been ranked No. 1 in three different seasons.

In 2007-08, the Vols made their debut at No. 1 in the AP poll. They stayed there for one week just before the SEC Tournament. Bruce Pearl’s team won the SEC regular-season title and reached the Sweet 16, finishing 31-5 that season.

In 2018-19, the Vols returned to the top, spending four consecutive weeks at No. 1. That team, coached by Rick Barnes, advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished 31-6.

In 2024-25, the Vols spent five consecutive weeks at No. 1 before entering the grind of SEC play.

How Many Tennessee Players Have Won SEC Player of The Year?

Ten Tennessee players have combined to win or share the SEC Player of the Year Award 14 times.

* – denotes shared the award. In 1976-77, teammates Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King “Ernie and Bernie” shared the award.

Best Coaches in Tennessee History

Here’s a look at the three Tennessee basketball coaches who have won at least 300 games with the Vols.

Ray Mears

Record at Tennessee: 278-112 (.713)

Notable: Mears held his own against Adolph Rupp’s juggernaut at Kentucky, setting a program record for wins, capturing 3 SEC regular-season titles and leading the Vols to their first three NCAA Tournament appearances. He retired after the 1977 season.

Rick Barnes

Record at Tennessee: 229-108 (.680) entering the 2025 NCAA Tournament

Overall record: 833-422 entering the 2025 NCAA Tournament

Notable: Barnes ranks third among active coaches in all-time wins, trailing only Rick Pitino and John Calipari. He is the all-time winningest coach in Texas Longhorns basketball history (402) and has a chance to eventually supplant Mears at the top of the Vols’ list. He ranks fourth all-time with 29 NCAA Tournament appearances. He twice has been nominated for Naismith Hall of Fame consideration and it seems likely he’ll eventually get the nod.

Don DeVoe

Record at Tennessee: 204-137 (.598)

Overall record: 512-389

Notable: After Mears resigned, Vols assistant Cliff Wittig took over for 1 season before Tennessee hired DeVoe as a full-time replacement. The Vols were largely starting over following the end of the “Ernie and Bernie” era, but it didn’t take DeVoe long to crank it back up. The Vols made the NCAA Tournament in each of DeVoe’s first five seasons, capturing the 1979 SEC Tournament along the way.

Tennessee’s All-Time Starting Five

Bernard King is the only Tennessee basketball player inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, but the Vols have had plenty of other stars. Here is their all-time starting lineup:

Point guard: Zakai Zeigler

This Vols lineup is loaded with scorer. Who better to feed everybody than a do-it-all guard like Zeigler, who became Tennessee’s all-time leader, finishing with 747? Zeigler was named a third-team All-American in 2024-25 as well as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He also is the Vols’ career leader in steals (251).

Shooting guard: Allan Houston

No Grunfeld? Everything Grunfeld did, Houston surpassed.

Houston broke Grunfeld’s career scoring record — by nearly 400 points. Houston finished with 2,801 points, still ranks second in career 3-pointers and his 21.9 career scoring average ranks third.

(Yes, Grunfeld ranks No. 2 at 22.3 — which makes him the ideal sixth man to provide instant offense.)

Small forward: Bernard King

The easiest selection on the list — and also a player who could have slotted in at shooting guard depending on how you wanted to form the lineup. King was a 2-time All-American and is the only Vol in the Naismith Hall of Fame. He is the Vols’ all-time leader in points per game at 25.3 and ranks No. 7 all-time with 1,962 points. He also ranks No. 2 all-time in career rebounds with 1,004.

Power forward: Grant Williams

Williams was a 2-time SEC Player of the Year award winner and a force behind Rick Barnes’ tenacious, attacking style of play. He was the best player on a Vols team that reached No. 1 in 2019.

He played just 3 seasons before declaring for the NBA after being named a first-team All-American in 2019.

He’s just outside of Tennessee’s top-10 all-time scoring list, finishing with 1,629 points.

Center: Reggie Johnson

Is he undersized at 6-9, 205? Probably. But Johnson was a 3-time All-SEC player and still ranks No. 5 all-time on the Vols’ career scoring list with 2,103 points. He’s sixth in career rebounds with 903.

More important, he helped the Vols win the SEC regular-season title in 1977 with “Ernie and Bernie” and then after they left, was the primary force on Tennessee’s SEC Tournament title team in 1979.

Chris Wright

Managing Editor

A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.