JP Estrella officially ruled out for Wednesday night bout vs. Oklahoma
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Tennessee big man JP Estrella was considered doubtful for tonight’s game against Oklahoma. Now, it’s official – the Vols will be without their steadily improving forward against the Sooners. Estrella is considered day-to-day moving forward, according to Tennessee basketball’s X account.
Tennessee is calling Estrella’s injury “left foot soreness,” which is definitely not a new trend for the Vols forward. Estrella has been dealing with injuries to his left foot pretty much since he arrived on campus at Tennessee in 2024. Because of this, 2026 has been the first season of real development for the 6-11 scorer out of Maine.
It’s not shocking that Estrella has been playing the best basketball of his career during this time. The Vols have lost just twice this season when Estrella scores 10 or more points, which he’s done in 5 of his last 6 games. Perhaps his best game of the season came just the other night, when he dropped 16 points with 9 rebounds on 7-9 shooting against LSU.
Tennessee’s Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie have been great this season, but the Vols are at their best when Estrella can fill in the true Big 3. The Vols will have to have big outings from freshman DeWayne Brown, veteran Felix Okpara and Vanderbilt transfer Jaylen Carey to put down an Oklahoma team that absolutely has to win if it wants to sniff the NCAA Tournament.
As of right now, the Vols hold a small probability to win the SEC regular season title per Kalshi.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
