Tennessee transfer portal target Isaac McKneely commits to Louisville

He will remain in the ACC.

One of Tennessee’s top targets in the transfer portal won’t be joining Rick Barnes’ reloading effort. Isaac McKneely, a sharpshooting guard who is transferring from Virginia, chose Louisville this afternoon.

McKneely visited Tennessee on Tuesday after the Volunteers showed early interest. He joins Pat Kelsey at Louisville, who has been busy so far in the portal. Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw) and Ryan Conwell (Xavier) have already joined the Cardinals, making them an early threat to Duke next season in the ACC.

McKneely is a big miss for the Volunteers, who are looking to replace four starters for next season — and in particular, shooting. The former Cavalier shot 42 percent during his time at Virginia and would have gone a long way towards replacing the production of Chaz Lanier. Tennessee also has to replace Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Igor Milicic, Darlinstone Dubar and Jordan Gainey.

Tennessee has been heavily connected to former Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who is a Greeneville, Tennessee native. The staff visited with him on Wednesday. Gillespie averaged 14.7 points per game and 4.8 assists this season after transferring in from Belmont.

Barnes and company will make several splashes here over the next couple of weeks, but McKneely won’t be one of them. On to the next one.