It's already been a fruitful offseason for the Tennessee Vols, and it could be getting even better in the not-too-distant future. 

Rick Barnes and the Vols have made a couple of big additions to the roster over the last week, landing Maryland transfer guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Vanderbilt transfer forward Jaylen Carey out of the NCAA transfer portal in recent days. 

Gillespie and Carey are big additions for a Tennessee squad that's losing several important players this offseason (Zakai Zeigler, Jordan Gainey, Jahmai Mashack, and Chaz Lanier highlight the Vols' key losses entering the 2025-26 season), and they could soon be joined by another big addition. 

On3's Pete Nakos made a prediction on Monday for Tennessee to land Maryland transfer guard Rodney Rice, who was teammates with Gillespie in College Park. 

Rice, who started his career at Virginia Tech, averaged 13.8 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game this past season. 

Nakos noted that his confidence in Tennessee landing Rice is "low", which indicates that the Vols still have some work to do to win this transfer battle, but the prediction is still a good sign for UT's chances. 

The Knoxville News Sentinel's Mike Wilson also reported on Monday that Rice is "in play" for the Volunteers. 

Kentucky and Michigan are also in the mix for Rice. 

Despite the retirement rumors that have circulated over the last couple of months, it appears that Barnes is gearing up for another big NCAA Tournament run next season.