Mike Keith Set to Lead Vols Radio Crew For Basketball

(utsports.com) The University of Tennessee, in conjunction with Vol Network, announced Thursday afternoon the full radio broadcast team for the upcoming men’s basketball season.

Mike Keith, in his first season as the “Voice of the Vols,” will serve as the primary play-by-play broadcaster for Tennessee men’s basketball games. John Wilkerson will work as both a fill-in play-by-play voice and a color analyst, while Chris Lofton and Steve Hamer will also be part of a stacked color commentator rotation.

“We’re excited to bring together an incredible team for Tennessee basketball this season,” said Brandon Parks, the Vice President and General Manager of the Vol Network. “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.”

Keith, a 12-time Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year who spent 26 seasons as the voice of the Tennessee Titans, is a 2020 inductee to the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame. Wilkerson, meanwhile, joined him in the Hall in July 2025.

The voice of Tennessee baseball for the past 27 years, Wilkerson will be the play-by-play broadcaster for games Keith cannot make due to football conflicts, in addition to working alongside him as a color analyst for a significant portion of the season. Wilkerson served as the Vol Network’s basketball studio and scoreboard host for the past 29 seasons, as well as the backup play-by-play announcer for the last 26.

The other two color analysts, like Wilkerson and Keith, are prominent Tennessee alumni, as both Lofton and Hamer excelled on the hardwood for the Volunteers.

One of the finest guards in league history, Lofton scored 2,131 points at Tennessee from 2004-08 and won SEC Player of the Year in 2006-07. The two-time consensus All-American, whose No. 5 jersey hangs in the Food City Center rafters, will rotate with Hamer and Wilkerson for much of the season and take over the primary color analyst role in advance of the postseason. Lofton played 11 seasons of professional basketball.

Hamer, another former Tennessee basketball star, will continue in his role as a color analyst, a position for which he has been a contributor since 2015. He also works as a television color analyst for Tennessee basketball games, a role he started in 1999. The two-time All-SEC designee posted 1,418 points and 750 rebounds for the Volunteers from 1992-96 before spending one season with the Boston Celtics.

“We look forward to hearing this new Vol Network crew on the air calling another great season of Tennessee basketball,” said Alicia Longworth, Tennessee’s Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Marketing Officer. “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.”

For the past 26 years, from 1999-2000 to 2024-25, Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp provided the soundtrack for Tennessee men’s basketball. Both retired at the conclusion of last season.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

Tennessee Basketball games can be heard statewide on the more than 50 stations that make up the Vol Radio Network for basketball, SiriusXM, the Tennessee Athletics App, the Varsity App and UTsports.com