Thirteen miles from exit 23 on Interstate 81, just under 16,000 Tennesseans reside in Greeneville, deep in Volunteer country. Upper East Tennessee holds some of the most passionate Big Orange fans with a connection and passion for Tennessee sports.
One of them is Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
“I’ve been waiting to finally represent Tennessee,” Gillespie said. “Just growing up cheering for 20 years now, just being a fan, to finally be able to put on a jersey, it just means a lot to me. It feels like a blessing just to be back here and I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.”
Gillespie enters the 2025-26 season as a transfer from Maryland, starting for the Terrapins in all 36 games as the point guard, while averaging 14.7 points and 4.8 assists per game, to rank first and second on the team, respectively, on the way to a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 run.
The Greene County native began his career in the middle part of the state at Belmont, where he spent two years. He was a Second Team All-MVC selection as a sophomore and an MVC All-Freshman pick the year before, after receiving little attention from collegiate programs.
Representing his community, Gillespie’s greatest honor comes from his role at the prep level. As a Greene Devil for Greenville High School, Gillespie led his team to its first state championship in his junior year, then followed it up with another state championship in his senior year. Averaging 27.3 points as a senior, Gillespie earned the 3A Mr. Basketball award, the first player to ever win the award from Northeast Tennessee.
“This is all I’ve known growing up. I’ve lived in East Tennessee for 18 years, so that’s all I’ve known,” Gillespie said. “The brotherhood we had, we all played together from middle school up. So, we were all super close.”
Family is everything for Gillespie, with his mother being his biggest supporter throughout his basketball career. She attends almost every game, no matter where it may be.
Inside the Xfinity Center in Maryland, the Gillespie family would often take up a row filled with cousins, siblings, grandparents and more hometown supporters. In every gym Gillespie has competed in throughout his career, he can often look to the crowd and see someone from his family there to cheer him on. For his family, the decision to commit to the Volunteers was an easy one.
“They definitely wanted me to come back here.” Gillespie said with a smile. “I get to see my brothers, sisters, my mom, my dad, all my old friends. So, it’s like being back, just like high school.”
Gillespie excelled in the NCAA Tournament this past year for Maryland, helping the Terrapins reach the second weekend for the first time in nine years. He scored 16 points in the opening win over Grand Canyon, notched 11 points and seven assists in the Round of 32 versus Colorado State and then logged a valiant 17 points against Florida, the eventual national champion.
When Gillespie’s head coach at Maryland left to take another position and the skilled guard entered the transfer portal, Tennessee knew it would be in the running for the local star. Assistant coach Gregg Polinsky, who has 44 years of experience at the college and NBA level, sees the embodiment of a program player.
“His demeanor, his selflessness, he really wanted to be a part of something special. And, obviously, the fact that he is from Greenville,” Polinsky said of what stood out to him about Gillespie during the recruiting process. “I think he will be one of the more dynamic players in college basketball this year.”
Rick Barnes is no stranger to high-level talent and the ability to develop them to the next level. Since 2019, Barnes has produced 10 NBA Draft picks at Tennessee, the third-most of any school. Described as a quiet competitor, Gillespie was one of only two players in the entire country who made at least 80 three-pointers, had an assist rate of 27 percent or higher and averaged 1.9 steals per game last season.
“It feels good that coach Barnes has the trust in me to fill that role and [I know] just how successful he has been with all his point guards,” said Gillespie. “I love coach. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything for you. He’s going to tell you how it is and that’s why I really like being here, because he’s always been real with me since I got here and is trying to help me get to the next level.”
A multisport athlete in high school, Gillespie received multiple Division I offers, from schools such as Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech, after posting standout numbers as a wide receiver and cornerback on the gridiron. However, it was in his first love, basketball, where he put his trust.
“Not being highly recruited [as a basketball player] in high school, I’ve always had to work for what I wanted,” Gillespie said. “It’s everything. It got me here, so I feel like I just got to keep playing, keep working, and it’ll get me further.”
Returning home, Gillespie gets his chance to cap his collegiate basketball journey in the same place he watched games growing up, playing in an arena that holds more fans than his hometown’s population.
For Gillespie, it is about representing his state and East Tennessee specifically with a grit and intensity grown from having to work for everything he has ever achieved in his life.
