Ray Kasongo is taking his talents to East Tennessee.  The 6’9” Toronto, Ont. native pledged allegiance to the Tennessee Volunteers via his own personal twitter account last week.

Kasongo becomes the first official signee for Rick Barnes as he takes on his new role as Volunteers head coach.

“Ray brings tremendous athleticism to our roster,” Barnes said in Tennessee’s release. “He’s got the ability to run and jump at a high level, and we believe he has the potential to become an elite rebounder.”

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Kasongo will enroll at Tennessee in June as a Sophomore.

In one JUCO season at Southern Idaho, where Kasongo landed after he was denied admission to Oregon due to a transcript error late last summer, the 235-pounder averaged 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 15.6 minutes and blocked 75 shots in 34 games. Producing eight games with double-figure scoring and a pair of double-doubles while shooting 59.6% (84 of 141) from the floor.

Speaking with Hoops Hype Canada, Kasongo shared what separated Tennessee from Mississippi State who was also in the running for his signature.

“They are in need of a player like myself down low as a forward who can help out with scoring, rebounds, blocking shots and being athletic running the floor. All good things that I do so I feel like there is a good opportunity for me to go out there, see a lot of minutes and possibly start,” said Kasongo.

Kasongo–who also is fluent in French–played his AAU ball with the Grassroots Canada Elite, coached by Ro Russell.

Tennessee has just one letterman from Canada in program history. Hamilton, Ontario, native Bobby Croft starred as a Vol from 1967-70 and was a first-team All-SEC selection as a senior.

Rick Barnes, however, boasts an impressive history of signing and developing Canadian standouts, including Cory Joseph (Toronto; now plays for the San Antonio Spurs), Myck Kabongo (Toronto; now plays in the NBA D-League) and Tristan Thompson (Brampton, Ontario; now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers).

“It’s always a good thing to have when you look at Coach Barnes history and his good background with Canadians,” said Kasongo.

Kasongo will fight for the title of most athletic front-court player in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Similar to Tristan Thompson with a nose to the grind, Tennessee supporters can expect flashes of a professional. Kasongo demonstrated that pro potential during the summer of 2013. While on AAU duty with Grassroots Canada Elite, he went head-to-head  with Mac Irvin Fire (featuring NBA draft bound Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander), and Kasongo posted an eye opening 15 point, 7 block performance.

So what will coach Barnes expect from Kasongo when he arrives in Knoxville?

“He pretty much said the opportunity is there for me to take and that the team could use a player like me. After recruiting me for a while he see’s the potential and says he is willing to get in the gym with me and push me to be the best player that I can be. He just believes in me,  I can just see it with him that only good things can happen,” said Kasongo.

Ray Kasongo is coming to Tennessee, Southeastern Conference (SEC) you have officially been warned!