Data study · every season we hold

Where Tennessee High School Basketball Players Go to College

Of the 431 players from Tennessee high schools on a college roster in our data, 32% played their college basketball in Tennessee.

Computed from 431 players · 2020–21 to 2026–27 · updated Sep 1, 2026

431
players in the dataset
32%
stayed in Tennessee
48%
reached D1
Alabama
#1 destination outside Tennessee

32% stay in-state.

Tennessee is below the 43% all-state baseline.

Tennessee skews away from D3.

24% of Tennessee players in the dataset reached D3, against 41% nationally.

Alabama and Georgia are the first destinations out.

Among players leaving Tennessee, 11% went to Alabama and 8% to Georgia.

Tennessee's college players skew heavily away from D3

Tennessee vs all states · share of players at each level

Tennessee

D148%
D229%
D324%

n = 431

All states

D136%
D223%
D341%

n = 29,117

TNAll statesDifference
D148%36%+12 pts
D229%23%+6 pts
D324%41%−17 pts

Where Tennessee players land

Destination states
Destination statePlayersShare
Tennessee13732%
Alabama317%
Georgia235%
Kentucky215%
Texas184%
North Carolina174%
Arkansas143%
Virginia133%

Which programs take Tennessee players

Historical landings
ProgramDivisionStatePlayers
MaryvilleD3Tennessee20
Trevecca NazareneD2Tennessee14
Union (TN)D2Tennessee12
BelmontD1Tennessee8
LeMoyne-OwenD2Tennessee8
Middle TennesseeD1Tennessee8
Alabama HuntsvilleD2Alabama8
RhodesD3Tennessee7
Alabama StateD1Alabama6
LeeD2Tennessee6

What this means for a Tennessee recruit

How to read it

Start local, but don't stop local.

32% of Tennessee players in the dataset stayed in-state — the programs most likely to see you play repeatedly are the ones nearby.

Your realistic level matters more than geography alone.

Tennessee's historical landings skew away from D3 (24% vs 41% nationally).

Past recruiting is a signal, not a guarantee.

A program that repeatedly rosters players from your state has demonstrated a pathway; it does not mean it will recruit you.

Those are the historical patterns for Tennessee. Where does your profile fit?Depth Chart scores your size, position, level and recruiting profile against all 1,060 programs.
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Methodology

Source · sample · scope

431 players · 1,060 programs · 2020–21 to 2026–27

Definitions and scope
Source
Official rosters published by the athletics sites of 1,060 NCAA D1, D2 and D3 men's programs, collected by Depth Chart.
Home state
The state of the high school on the player's record — the same definition the state tool uses, so the two read the same data the same way.
Level
Each player counts once, at the highest level they reached across the seasons we hold (D1 over D2 over D3).
Sample
431 players from Tennessee high schools, across every season we hold; roster coverage runs 2020–21 to 2026–27. A state with fewer than 200 players in our data is not published, because it would describe a coincidence rather than a pattern.
Computed
September 1, 2026 · methodology state-landing-pages-1
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