Jaylen Carey will be Public Enemy No. 1 in Nashville during the 2025-26 college basketball season. The former Vanderbilt standout officially announced his commitment to Tennessee on Sunday night.
Not only is the rising junior moving to the other side of the in-state rivalry, he is not shying away from conflict.
Carey, a former college basketball standout at James Madison, followed head coach Mark Byington to West End prior to last season. He averaged 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.9 minutes as a freshman with the Dukes and then 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.2 minutes as a sophomore with the Dores.
Byington used his 6-foot-8, 265-pound big in the five-spot off of the bench. That role apparently was not enough for Carey, who entered the transfer portal last week. Rumors immediately started to swirl about a mutual interest with the Volunteers. Rick Barnes loved what he saw from him back in January and February.
Carey dropped a season-high 18 points in a loss to Tennessee on Feb. 15 with seven boards and three assists. He scored 14 points with 10 rebounds in a win over Tennessee on Jan. 18.
Not long after Jaylen Carey announced his decision to leave Music City for good, a change to his profile picture indicated the plans for a cross-rivalry transfer. It has been a secret since the middle of last week.
[Coach Barnes and I] talked for 40 minutes and it was a great talk. I kind of told them after the Zoom, “hey, I’m going to commit to you and the Vols. I want to be a Vol.” It was a lot of excitement. It was kind of hard the last four days not being able to say anything.
— Jaylen Carey, via Rocky Top Insider
Vanderbilt fans were already going to hate him as soon as he announced his decision. They are going to hate him even more with how he has handled this entire sequence of events. He is embracing the villain role. The past no longer matters. It’s all about the present.
I’m a Vol now man. I don’t care about no block-and-gold. I bleed orange now man. I don’t care about what they’ve got to say.
— Jaylen Carey, via Rocky Top Insider
There is some irony with Carey’s comments, considering that this is going to be his third team in three years. His loyalty lies with the Volunteers in this current season but how long will that last??
Tennessee and Vandy will play twice next season. Fans on West End are going to welcome him back to Music City with raucous boos and the utmost hostility. One of the best rivalries in college basketball got even more intense!