Former USC Upstate guard Jordan Gainey announced Tuesday via Instagram that he will be transferring to Tennessee to play out his final 2 seasons of eligibility. Gainey is the son of current Vols Associate head coach Justin Gainey.

Gainey is also Tennessee’s first transfer portal addition of the offseason, a good move with at least a few Vols confirmed to be on their way out. Guard Tyreke Key is out of eligibility and forward Olivier Nkamhoua announced he would be entering the portal at the end of March.

We are still awaiting decisions from Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi and Uros Plavsic, as well as potentially Julian Phillips.

Gainey was red-hot from range his first season at USC Upstate, hitting 49% of his 3-point attempts. Those numbers dipped to around 34.5% this past season, but he also became a more complete player in that year. He averaged 15.2 points per game last season with the Spartans.

The 6-foot-4 guard dramatically stepped up his defensive game from Year 1 to Year 2. He averaged just under 2 steals per game last season, a good sign for a player that will not see time on a Tennessee court if he does not lock in on defense. Rick Barnes has shown us that much.

Gainey played well against Power 5 opponents this past season, dropping 24 against Clemson and 5 against Duke to start the season in a 84-38 blowout. He also totaled 19 points against a UNC Asheville squad that made the NCAA Tournament.