Brandon Huntley-Hatfield commits to Louisville

Former five-star prospect Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has found his new home. Just a couple of weeks after announcing his intentions to transfer from Tennessee, Huntley-Hatfield has committed to Louisville.

He made the announcement on Sunday.

The Clarksville, Tennessee native stays relatively close to home, and gives new Louisville head coach Kenny Payne one of his first victories on the recruiting trail. Payne recruited Huntley-Hatfield to Kentucky a couple of years back, and now gets to coach him at Louisville.

Huntley-Hatfield drew interest from SMU, Auburn, Arizona State and Wake Forest upon hitting the portal. He visited the Cardinals this weekend, ultimately deciding that he had seen enough.

At Tennessee, Huntley-Hatfield struggled to find the floor early on. However, a mid-season injury to Olivier Nkamhoua opened the door for him. He became a starter on the team, but frankly made a minimal impact despite the boost in minutes. There were transfer rumors swirling early in the year, and they ended up coming true shortly after the season.

Rick Barnes didn’t sound all that surprised about his decision to leave the program.

Tennessee will now hope Nkamhoua comes back healthy for next season, while keeping Uros Plavsic and Jonas Aidoo in the rotation. They’ll probably add another body to the frontcourt to build some depth, looking to replace the minutes that Huntley-Hatfield would have had.

This weekend the Volunteers picked up a transfer commitment from Tyreke Key, a veteran shooter with one season of eligibility left. Rick Barnes now has three scholarships left to fill this offseason.