Chris Washington Jr. spent seven months and one decommitment figuring out where he wanted to play college basketball. Once coach Rick Barnes got him on campus at Tennessee, he didn’t need long.
The 6-foot-9 forward committed to Alabama on Sept. 8, reopened his recruitment on Nov. 17 and didn’t land at Tennessee until April 16, choosing the Vols over Auburn, Ole Miss, Southern Cal and Villanova. A planned Jan. 31 official visit to Knoxville for the Auburn game got scrapped by bad weather. When he finally made it to campus in April, he committed two days after his visit.
“Honestly, I just felt that, for me and my family, that was the best decision,” Washington said July 7 of his decommitment from Alabama. “And I’ve found my right school, I feel like.”
He was the No. 1 overall instate recruit for the 2026 signing class and the No. 52 national recruit in the 247Sports Composite. He earned that ranking at Providence Christian Academy in Murfreesboro, playing there the past two years after starting his high school career in Florida. Barnes called him “one of the finest in the country at the prep level” when the signing became official.
That signing made him the highest-rated player in Tennessee’s 2026 high school class, joined by four-star wings Ralph Scott and Manny Green, plus three-star guard Marquis Clark.
His ties to Knoxville actually predate his recruitment. He spent his club seasons with B. Maze Elite, a Knoxville-based AAU program run by former Tennessee guard Bobby Maze, training in the city and playing against his fellow freshman classmates long before UT became home. His time in the city, he said, played a role in his final decision.
“I’ve played those guys on the circuit, so for us to all be on the same team, it’s a good thing,” Washington said.
He won back-to-back TSSAA Division II-A state titles and back-to-back state tournament MVP awards at PCA, capping his senior year with a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double in a 60-48 win over Battle Ground Academy. He averaged 18.8 points and 9.4 rebounds as a senior. Across four varsity seasons, he scored more than 2,000 points and grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds.
Chris Washington is not your average forward
“He is particularly impactful in transition and leaping off one foot,” Barnes said in an April 16 school release. “He can also stretch the floor and knock down 3-point shots, as well as grab offensive rebounds. At the defensive end, Chris has all the tools to become elite and is someone who can guard four positions.”
Washington said the whole country knows he can score, so the focus this summer has been on the other end of the floor.
“My defense,” Washington said. “It’s about working on my rotations, being in the right gaps.”
The No. 19-ranked small forward by the 247Sports Composite has been practicing at power forward. Redshirt senior forward Christian Fermin, who will share the frontcourt with Washington this season, has already noticed his motor.
“His effort, for sure,” Fermin said. “He’s getting tested like any freshman coming into college, but he hasn’t been taking it to heart. He’s been moving in stride and constantly trying and trying again. His scoring ability too, obviously his body and frame has to come into what it’s going to be, but I feel like his ability to get to the rim and just score as a freshman in college right now is intriguing. He’s going to be nice, for sure.”
Washington was a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee and one of just 27 players selected to the Iverson Classic in May, an elite talent showcase whose alumni include back-to-back NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2026 No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa.
Development is what ultimately sold Washington on Tennessee, and Barnes’ track record was enough for Washington before Barnes’ pitch. The Vols had three players selected in this year’s NBA Draft, Nate Ament, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara, the second time in Barnes’ tenure Tennessee has sent three players to the league in one class, following 2019. Gillespie is one of many former Vols already active across the NBA’s multiple summer leagues, and Washington has been watching.
“Coach Barnes, he’s getting those guys there,” Washington said. “I know my time is going to come.”
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What does Chris Washington Jr. brings to Tennessee basketball? Start with his versatility
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