Tennessee Basketball has received its second commitment in the 2025 class, adding four-star shooting guard Amari Evans. The decision was announced Friday night by Evans, who picked the Vols over Pitt and Xavier.
“They have great development over there,” Evans told On3 in October. “Rick Barnes is a Hall of Fame coach. Dalton Knecht was obviously a great player in his own right, but Coach Barnes put him in some situations to be great.
“Coach Barnes is a character, for sure. I have a good relationship with coach, but I also have a good relationship with Rod Clark, the assistant coach.”
Evans is a 6-foot-5, 204-pound four-star prospect in the class of 2025 out of Pittsburgh, Pa. He’s ranked as the No. 83 overall recruit in the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s the No. 23 shooting guard in the country and the No. 12 overall player in Georgia, where he plays in the Overtime Elite prep league.
“I’m a great defender, a knockdown shooter, and a winner,” Evans told On3. “This summer I saw myself become a much better shooter and learning the defensive rotations and really, kind of, mastering everything on the defensive end. I watch a lot of Josh Hart, he plays harder than everyone out there.”
Tennessee over the summer made the top 10 for Evans, who also had Georgetown, Illinois, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Pitt, TCU, Texas A&M, Xavier, and Villanova on the list.
He said during the recruiting process his top two priorities were the opportunity to play early and a program’s playing style.
“I want to play for a school that takes pride in tough guys,” Evans said. “Defense is important to me, and so is winning.”
Tennessee received its first commitment in the 2025 class from four-star center Dewayne Brown back in April. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound prospect out of Hoover, Alabama. He’s ranked No. 101 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking and is the No. 8 center in the country and the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama.
On3 Scouting Report — Amari Evans
Amari Evans has a good basketball frame with nice length and broad shoulders. He has nice positional size as a complimentary guard. Evans is a capable shooter with range beyond the arc. He is a solid secondary ball handler, able to restart possessions and get the ball where it needs to go. He can also defend at the point of attack or off the ball, being aggressive in the passing lanes. Consistency is the next step for Evans as he continues forward, that should be helped by finding a defined role for himself. A strong guard with flashes of dribbling, shooting, and passing has value in today’s game.
