Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
No Tennessee basketball profile raised his stock more in Las Vegas than Bishop Boswell who not only returned from injury but excelled in the Vols’ three games at the Players Era Festival.
Boswell played well in all three games but turned in his best outing of the week in Tennessee’s 76-73 win over Houston. The shooting guard recorded three steals while adding 10 points, three assists and four rebounds.
The sophomore guard was arguably the most impactful player on the court and earned serious praise from Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson.
“The kid that should be mentioned, though, not a lot of people will remember his impact, but it was Bishop Boswell,” Sampson said. “He impacted that game. No idea what his future holds in this game, but that kid is a winner. He was the toughest guy on the floor tonight.”
Boswell consistently stepped up in big moments in the Houston game. He was a big reason the Vols remained in the game after falling behind by double-digits in the first half, turning defense into offense and making all four field goal attempts. Boswell also drilled two critical free throws with Tennessee in the bonus late in the game.
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“A lot of respect for that young man,” Sampson said. “He’s tough and he’s a winner. Every coach in America would love to have Boswell.”
The Charlotte native started Tennessee’s first two games of the season before a right foot and left hamstring injury sidelined him for Tennessee’s three games prior to Players Era. Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said that Tennessee’s starting shooting guard will be its best defender at the spot.
Barnes has challenged Boswell to be an elite perimeter defender and fill that role. He did a strong job seizing that opportunity as Tennessee faced its first true test of the 2025-26 season.
“I think he’s becoming one of the best defensive guards in the country and there’s no doubt that it’s a hard role to put a player to want to buy into, to want to do it, but he’s all about team,” Barnes said. “He wants to win more than anything else, and we knew during the whole recruiting process he was a winner and he would do whatever it would take. We’re asking him to fill a major role and he’s embraced it, and obviously proud of him.”
Over three games at Players Era, Boswell averaged 6.3 points on 77.8 shooting from the field, four assists, three steals and 2.7 rebounds rebounds per game. He filled the stat sheet while also playing strong perimeter defense— a role Tennessee needed him to fill.
Shooting guard rotation was a question for Tennessee ahead of its first power five challenges. Boswell made that picture more clear with his performance in Las Vegas.