Tennessee basketball has extended an offer to one of the best players in the 2027 class.

Marcus Spears Jr., a four-star on track to earn a fifth star by the end of his recruitment, picked up an offer from Rick Barnes and company over this past weekend.

He is ranked as the No. 9 overall recruit in his class out of Dallas, Texas.

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According to a report from 247Sports, Spears has heard from Miami, Duke, Kentucky, SMU, Arizona, Arkansas, LSU, Indiana, Virginia, Maryland and Houston along with the Vols.

He played for Team USA in the 2025 FIBA U16 Americup and showed out while helping claim a gold medal. He averaged 14 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game on 60.8% shooting from the field.

He was named an 'All-Star 5' as one of the best five players in the tournament regardless of team. He was one of two Americans listed.

Listed as a power forward, it is believed that Spears has grown to 6-foot-8 at this point, but could continue to see that grow as he enters his junior season.

In August of 2024, Rivals recruiting analysts weighed in on the 2027 class. Jason Jordan listed Spears as the recruit he's most interesting in seeing develop.

"He’s the son of ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears and that alone is intriguing to me for a lot of different reasons," the article said. "Also, he’s an absolute stud with a multifaceted game and he’s shown and proved over the summer, leading his Drive Nation 15U squad to a Peach Jam comeback win over Team Final in July. I’ll be interested to see the twists and turns his recruitment takes with a celebrity dad who analyzes sports at the highest level."

With Dynamic Prep, he is teammates with five-star guard and No. 2 overall prospect in the 2026 class, Ryan Hampton. The Vols are also after Hampton, re-offering him over the weekend.

Tennessee currently has no commitments in either the 2026 or 2027 classes, but have extended plenty of offers as it looks to reload the roster.

The Vols landed five commitments in the 2025 class, including five-star forward Nate Ament.

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