Tennessee basketball adds Cal guard Dai Dai Ames from transfer portal

Tennessee basketball addresses offense first in the transfer portal, adding guard Dai Dai Ames, he confirmed with a shared Instagram post on April 11.

Ames joins Belmont graduate transfer guard Tyler Lundblade as the Vols’ first offseason acquisitions.

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Ames is a three-time transfer, originally starting at Kansas State. He left for Virginia to start the 2024-25 season and started 26 of 31 games, then came to Cal for the 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-2 Ames averaged 16.9 points, 2.2 assists and 2.0 rebounds for the Golden Bears.

Ames was a four-star prospect at Kenwood Academy in Chicago.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the Vols’ loss to Michigan that they needed more offense. Tennessee’s first two portal additions are an attempt to solve that problem.

Lundblade is an elite shooter who achieved a 40% mark from 3-point range the last two seasons, while Ames was the leading scorer in a career-best season for California.

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The two join confirmed returning freshmen Troy Henderson and DeWayne Brown II.

Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball adds Cal guard Dai Dai Ames from transfer portal

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Publish date : 2026-04-11 18:15:00

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