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With each potential returner departing from the Lady Vols basketball program this offseason, Kim Caldwell had to attack the transfer portal herself to fill out the roster. The result was 13 incoming transfers and a pair of freshmen to give her a clean slate heading into her third season.
With the portal mostly settled, ESPN’s Michael Voepel named five winners and five teams with remaining questions. Tennessee was listed as the top team in the ‘jury is still out’ category.
Given Caldwell’s system, Voepel is curious about whether this group will be motivated by the Lady Vols’ history or if the expectations could be a hindrance. Even if the group is properly motivated, they can’t help but wonder if it is a talented enough roster to compete in the SEC, as well.
“How much can this new group of players be motivated by Tennessee’s glorious past, and how much might they be trapped by it?” Voepel wrote. “Caldwell has stressed that she wants players who will play hard knowing they represent Tennessee’s tradition. Her high-tempo system works best with that kind of motivated competitor. But in the talent-rich SEC, the hard truth comes down to this: Will they be good enough?”
Eight of the Lady Vols’ 13 incoming transfers rank inside USA TODAY’s top 125 portal players, though. This includes Maryland guard Kaylene Smikle clocking in as high as No. 19. Naomi White from Northern Arizona is at No. 30, and Texas A&M forward Fatmata Janneh is at No. 46, also in the top-50.
“We had to do it quickly,” Caldwell said. “I am really pleased with the work that we put in over three weeks. We wanted to make sure that we constructed our roster in a way that balanced each other, that we had players that could fit in multiple roles and could shoot the ball.
“The biggest thing is we wanted to recruit heart and people that wanted to work hard and people that knew what was at stake. We really tried to hammer that home in our visits of how hard it was going to be and see if they were up to the challenge, and they all were.”
The pressure is now on for the group to perform. ESPN listed Tennessee as a projected 9-seed in the 2027 NCAA Tournament, which would be an improvement from last year, but by just one seed line.
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ESPN Skeptical of Lady Vols Basketball’s Transfer Portal Haul – Rocky Top Insider
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