KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Basketball has signed Tobe Awaka, New York's 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year, to the team.
Awaka has reclassified to the class of 2022 and will enroll in July for the second session of summer school and be eligible this fall for the Vols.
Awaka committed to the Vols in May and comes from Cardinal Hayes High School. Last season he averaged 19.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.
The power forward played in the same AAU program as current Vols guard Zakai Zeigler.
"Tobe gives us another big, strong presence in the post who plays a very physical brand of basketball," Rick Barnes told UT Athletics. "Tobe is an excellent student and had offers from multiple Ivy League programs. He's very comfortable playing down on the block, he can score with either hand and he has a nice shooting touch. He rebounds and moves well, and we love his toughness and grit."
Awaka is the fourth member of Tennessee's 2022 prep signing class, joining B.J. Edwards, D.J. Jefferson and forward Julian Phillips. In addition to those four high school signees, the Vols also added Indiana State graduate transfer guard Tyreke Key to the roster this offseason.
