2024–25 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

2024–25 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
2024–25 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 18
Record	15–5 (3–5 SEC)
Head coach	Kim Caldwell (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Roman Tubner; Gabe Lazo; Jenna Burdette;
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 SEC women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 South Carolina	8	–	0	1.000	20	–	1	.952
No. 7 LSU	7	–	1	.875	22	–	1	.957
No. 5 Texas	7	–	1	.875	21	–	2	.913
No. 12 Kentucky	7	–	1	.875	18	–	2	.900
No. 23 Vanderbilt	5	–	3	.625	18	–	4	.818
Ole Miss	5	–	3	.625	14	–	6	.700
No. 22 Alabama	4	–	4	.500	17	–	5	.773
No. 13 Oklahoma	4	–	4	.500	16	–	5	.762
No. 18 Tennessee	3	–	5	.375	15	–	5	.750
Mississippi State	3	–	5	.375	16	–	6	.727
Texas A&M	3	–	5	.375	10	–	10	.500
Auburn	2	–	6	.250	11	–	10	.524
Florida	2	–	6	.250	11	–	11	.500
Arkansas	2	–	6	.250	9	–	14	.391
Missouri	1	–	7	.125	12	–	11	.522
Georgia	1	–	7	.125	9	–	13	.409

† 2025 SEC tournament winner As of January 30, 2025 Rankings from AP poll

The 2024–25 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in the 2024–25 college basketball season. Led by head coach Kim Caldwell in her first year,^[1] the team plays their games at Thompson–Boling Arena and are members of the Southeastern Conference.

On December 14, the 19th-ranked Lady Vols set an NCAA record for the most three-point field goals made in a game. The team was 30-for-63 in three-pointers, becoming the first NCAA team, men's or women's, to reach that mark. The Lady Vols won the game against North Carolina Central University, 139–59.^[2]

Coach Caldwell had to miss coaching the Texas game, following her giving birth to her son, three days prior, on January 20. Assistant coach Jenna Burdette led the team for the game.^[3] Caldwell returned courtside to coach the South Carolina game on January 27.^[4]

Previous season

The 2023–24 team finished the season with a 20–13 overall record, 10–6 in the conference. They received a bye in the SEC tournament and advanced to the semifinals, where they lost by one point to South Carolina.^[5] The Lady Vols earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, advancing to the second round before losing to North Carolina State.^[6] In April 2024, head coach Kellie Harper was fired after five seasons.^[7]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Rickea Jackson	2	F	6'2"	Senior	Detroit, MI	Graduated/2024 WNBA draft; selected 4th overall by Los Angeles Sparks
Karoline Striplin	11	F	6'3"	Junior	Hartford, AL	Transferred to Indiana
Jasmine Powell	15	G	5'6"	Senior	Detroit, MI	Graduated
Tamari Key	20	C	6'5"	RS Senior	Cary, NC	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Samara Spencer	7	G	5'7"	Senior	Fort Lauderdale, FL	Arkansas
Lazaria Spearman	11	F	6'4"	Junior	Dacula, GA	Miami (FL)
Rapuluchi Ayodele	15	F	6'1"	Senior	Móstoles, Spain	Pittsburgh
Alyssa Latham	32	F	6'2"	Sophomore	Glenwood, IL	Syracuse

Recruiting classes

2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Kaniya Boyd G	Las Vegas, NV	Centennial High School	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	N/A
Kaniya Boyd G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2025.

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2025)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Mia Pauldo PG	Denville, NJ	Morris Catholic High School	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	N/A
Mia Pauldo PG	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 97
Deniya Prawl W	Toronto, ON	IMG Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	N/A
Deniya Prawl W	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 97
Jaida Civil G	Vero Beach, FL	Palm Bay Magnet High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	N/A
Jaida Civil G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Lauren Hurst W	Cleveland, TN	Cleveland High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A
Lauren Hurst W	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 94
Mya Pauldo PG	Denville, NJ	Morris Catholic High School	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	N/A
Mya Pauldo PG	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 94
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2025.

Roster

2024–25 Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Jewel Spear	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	GS	Wake Forest	The Colony, TX
G/F	1	Sara Puckett	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Sr	Muscle Shoals HS	Muscle Shoals, AL
G	2	Ruby Whitehorn	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Jr	Clemson	Detroit, MI
G	4	Kaniya Boyd	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS Fr	Centennial HS	Las Vegas, NV
G	5	Kaiya Wynn	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Foster HS	Richmond, TX
G	7	Samara Spencer	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr	Arkansas	Fort Lauderdale, FL
G	10	Destinee Wells	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	RS Sr	Belmont University	Lakeland, TN
F	11	Zee Spearman	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Jr	University of Miami	Dacula, GA
G	12	Edie Darby	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Jr	Greenfield HS	Greenfield, TN
G/F	13	Avery Strickland	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Pittsburgh	Knoxville, TN
F	15	Fayor Ayodele	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	GS	Pittsburgh	Móstoles, Spain
G/F	21	Tess Darby	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	GS	Greenfield HS	Greenfield, TN
F	33	Alyssa Latham	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	So	Syracuse	Glenwood, IL
F	53	Jillian Hollingshead	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	Sr	Georgia	Gainesville, GA
G	55	Talaysia Cooper	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	RS So	South Carolina	Turbeville, SC

Head coach

Kim Caldwell (Glenville State)

Assistant coach(es)

Roman Tubner (Centenary)
Gabe Lazo (Barry)
Jenna Burdette (Dayton)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 27, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 31, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+		Carson–Newman	W 135–49		29 – Whitehorn	7 – Boyd	8 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,613) Knoxville, TN
Regular season
November 5, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+		Samford	W 101–53	1–0	25 – Spearman	6 – Tied	5 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,515) Knoxville, TN
November 7, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+		UT Martin	W 90–50	2–0	18 – Whitehorn	14 – Whitehorn	5 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,788) Knoxville, TN
November 12, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+		Middle Tennessee	W 89–75	3–0	18 – Cooper	10 – Cooper	5 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,697) Knoxville, TN
November 16, 2024* 12:00 p.m., SECN+		Liberty	W 109–93	4–0	33 – Cooper	9 – Cooper	6 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,109) Knoxville, TN
November 26, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN		Western Carolina	W 102–50	5–0	20 – Cooper	7 – Whitehorn	5 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,086) Knoxville, TN
December 4, 2024* 7:15 p.m., SECN		Florida State ACC–SEC Challenge	W 79–77	6–0	22 – Cooper	7 – Cooper	4 – Spencer	Thompson-Boling Arena (9,529) Knoxville, TN
December 7, 2024* 7:00 p.m., FOX		vs. No. 17 Iowa Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic	W 78–68	7–0	23 – Cooper	6 – Tied	3 – Cooper	Barclays Center (9,114) Brooklyn, NY
December 14, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 19	North Carolina Central	W 139–59	8–0	33 – Spencer	6 – Cooper	10 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,305) Knoxville, TN
December 18, 2024* 8:30 p.m., ESPN+	No. 18	at Memphis	W 90–75	9–0	18 – Tied	12 – Spearman	6 – Tied	FedExForum (3,019) Memphis, TN
December 20, 2024* 2:15 p.m., BallerTV	No. 18	vs. Richmond West Palm Beach Classic	W 92–67	10–0	24 – Cooper	9 – Spearman	6 – Spencer	Massimino Court (373) West Palm Beach, FL
December 21, 2024* 11:00 a.m., BallerTV	No. 18	vs. Tulsa West Palm Beach Classic	W 102–61	11–0	17 – Puckett	9 – Spearman	6 – Spencer	Massimino Court (274) West Palm Beach, FL
December 29, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 15	Winthrop	W 114–50	12–0	17 – Puckett	8 – Puckett	4 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (11,152) Knoxville, TN
January 2, 2025 8:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 15	at Texas A&M	W 91–78	13–0 (1–0)	20 – Spear	6 – Spearman	8 – Spencer	Reed Arena (3,070) College Station, TX
January 5, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 15	No. 9 Oklahoma	L 86–87	13–1 (1–1)	28 – Spear	7 – Cooper	5 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (11,321) Knoxville, TN
January 9, 2025 6:30 p.m., SECN+	No. 16	No. 6 LSU	L 87–89	13–2 (1–2)	25 – Spear	6 – Tied	5 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (10,220) Knoxville, TN
January 12, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN	No. 16	at Arkansas	W 93–63	14–2 (2–2)	20 – Cooper	9 – Puckett	8 – Spencer	Bud Walton Arena (3,072) Fayetteville, AR
January 16, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN	No. 15	Mississippi State	W 86–73	15–2 (3–2)	20 – Whitehorn	10 – Cooper	7 – Cooper	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,018) Knoxville, TN
January 19, 2025 3:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 15	at Vanderbilt Rivalry	L 70–71	15–3 (3–3)	22 – Cooper	11 – Spearman	6 – Spencer	Memorial Gymnasium (8,299) Nashville, TN
January 23, 2025 8:00 p.m., SECN	No. 17	at No. 7 Texas	L 76–80	15–4 (3–4)	21 – Whitehorn	7 – Cooper	6 – Spencer	Moody Center (7,530) Austin, TX
January 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 18	No. 2 South Carolina	L 63–70	15–5 (3–5)	12 – Whitehorn	9 – Spearman	6 – Spencer	Thompson–Boling Arena (12,033) Knoxville, TN
February 2, 2025 3:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 18	at Missouri						Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO
February 6, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN		UConn Rivalry						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 9, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN		at LSU						Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA
February 13, 2025 6:30 p.m., SECN+		Auburn						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 16, 2025 12:00 p.m., SECN		Ole Miss						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 20, 2025 6:30 p.m., SECN+		Alabama						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 23, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN		at Florida						O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN		at Kentucky Rivalry						Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY
March 2, 2025 12:00 p.m., SECN		Georgia						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
SEC tournament
March 5–9, 2025		vs. TBD SEC tournament						Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, SC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Source:^[8]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	19	18	15	15	16	15	17	18
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	18	16	13	13	15	15	17	19

References

^ Trainer, Eric (April 7, 2024). "Tennessee Selects Caldwell To Lead Storied Lady Vol Basketball Program". UTSports.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ Wilson, Mike (December 14, 2024). "Lady Vols basketball sets NCAA 3-point record by hitting 30 in win over NC Central". Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
^ Hall, Cora (January 23, 2025). "Lady Vols basketball vs Texas score today: Live updates Jenna Burdette replaces new mom Kim Caldwell". knoxnews.com. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
^ Church, Jack (January 27, 2025). "Kim Caldwell returns to Lady Vols in loss to South Carolina". utdailybeacon.com. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
^ Iacobelli, Pete (March 9, 2024). "Cardoso's first-ever 3 rescues No. 1 South Carolina at SEC Tournament with 74-73 win over Lady Vols". Associated Press. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Lady Vols' comeback against NC State comes up short". Southeastern Conference. March 25, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
^ "Tennessee Athletics Announces Change Of Leadership In Women's Basketball". Tennessee Volunteers Athletics. April 1, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved December 27, 2024.

[1] Trainer, Eric (April 7, 2024). "Tennessee Selects Caldwell To Lead Storied Lady Vol Basketball Program". UTSports.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[2] Wilson, Mike (December 14, 2024). "Lady Vols basketball sets NCAA 3-point record by hitting 30 in win over NC Central". Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved December 14, 2024.

[3] Hall, Cora (January 23, 2025). "Lady Vols basketball vs Texas score today: Live updates Jenna Burdette replaces new mom Kim Caldwell". knoxnews.com. Retrieved January 23, 2025.

[4] Church, Jack (January 27, 2025). "Kim Caldwell returns to Lady Vols in loss to South Carolina". utdailybeacon.com. Retrieved January 27, 2025.

[5] Iacobelli, Pete (March 9, 2024). "Cardoso's first-ever 3 rescues No. 1 South Carolina at SEC Tournament with 74-73 win over Lady Vols". Associated Press. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[6] "Lady Vols' comeback against NC State comes up short". Southeastern Conference. March 25, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.

[7] "Tennessee Athletics Announces Change Of Leadership In Women's Basketball". Tennessee Volunteers Athletics. April 1, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[8] "2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved December 27, 2024.

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