Mike Keith will be joined by a few familiar faces for his first basketball season as “Voice of the Vols,”.
Vol Network will have a four-man crew for the 2025-26 basketball season, UT and the network announced Oct. 23. John Wilkerson and former Tennessee basketball stars Chris Lofton and Steve Hamer will all rotate as color analysts on the radio broadcast alongside Keith.
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Wilkerson will also handle play-by-play duties for Keith when he has conflicts with Tennessee football. Lofton will take over the primary color analyst role ahead of the postseason.
“We’re excited to bring together an incredible team for Tennessee basketball this season,” Vol Network vice president and general manager Brandon Parks said in a school release. “Mike Keith, John Wilkerson, Chris Lofton and Steve Hamer each bring unique perspective, energy, and passion for the game. Together, they’ll deliver an insightful and energetic broadcast experience for Vol fans everywhere.”
Wilkerson is the longtime voice of Tennessee baseball on the Vol Network. The baseball play-by-play commentator also co-hosts the morning radio show SportsTalk on WNML and handles in-studio anchoring for Tennessee football and men’s basketball.
Lofton, who’s the SEC’s all-time leader in 3-pointers, had his No. 5 jersey retired in 2022. It was the fifth jersey to be retired for Tennessee basketball, joining Dale Ellis, Ernie Grunfeld, Allan Houston, and Bernard King. Lofton scored 2,131 points in four seasons, which ranks fourth in program history. He was named the 2007 SEC player of the year and was a three-time All-American.
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Hamer, who played for the Vols from 1992-96, has contributed as a color analyst for basketball games on the Vol Network since 2015 and as a television color analyst since 1999. The 7-foot center was a two-time All-SEC selection and scored 1,418 career points before he was drafted in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft. Hamer is also currently the director of letterwinner relations for Tennessee athletics.
“We look forward to hearing this new Vol Network crew on the air calling another great season of Tennessee basketball,” Tennessee deputy athletics director and chief marketing officer Alicia Longworth said in a school release. “All four members of the broadcast team are well-known to Vol Nation and bring significant credentials to the position. We have no doubt Mike Keith, John Wilkerson, Chris Lofton and Steve Hamer will carry on the rich tradition of stellar Vol Network basketball broadcasts and that fans will love listening to their calls.”
Keith was hired to replace longtime “Voice of the Vols” Bob Kesling, who retired after 26 years following the 2024-25 basketball season. Bert Bertelkamp, who was the color analyst alongside Kesling, also retired at the end of last season.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Who’s joining Mike Keith on Vol Network call for Tennessee basketball
