Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell gives instructions against North Carolina State during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
The Tennessee Lady Vols ‘ struggles haven’t ended since finishing the season on an eight-game skid capped by a first-round NCAA Tournament loss.
As of Monday, coach Kim Caldwell had no players with eligibility left wanting to play for Tennessee anymore.
Jaida Civil was the last player with eligibility remaining only to announce Monday morning her departure after one season. Civil wrote on social media that playing for “one of the best up and coming coaches in the country” was a blessing but: “After deep thought and prayer, I have decided to enter the transfer portal.”
Civil was part of Caldwell’s 2025 recruiting class rated No. 1 nationally by 247Sports. She joined four other Lady Vols in the portal that opened Monday, including Talaysia Cooper, Kaniya Boyd, Alyssa Latham and Lauren Hurst.
Mia and Mya Pauldo announced their intent to enter the portal on social media last week, but their names weren’t in the portal as of midday Monday. Neither was Deniya Prawl’s name despite her own social media post that simply said March 26, “Thankful for it all” after reports she too was headed to the portal.
It got worse Tuesday morning with Oliviyah Edwards, a 6-foot-3 forward from Tacoma, Washington, and the No. 2-ranked recruit by ESPN, announced on X that Tennessee had granted her request to be released from her letter of intent.
“This has been a tough weekend as I’ve had to grieve the loss of what I once envisioned for my future,” wrote Edwards, who took part in the dunk contest last week as part of the McDonald’s All-American showcase.
Tennessee went 16-14 in Caldwell’s second season. The eight straight losses were the first in the program’s NCAA women’s basketball era going back to the 1981-82 season, while the 14 losses matched the 2015-16 Lady Vols’ school record for losses in a season. Those Lady Vols lost in a regional final in March 2016.
The Lady Vols already were losing four seniors out of eligibility led by Janiah Barker, a likely WNBA draft pick Monday night. Fifth-year guard Kaiya Wynn announced her departure after barely playing on senior day, not sticking around for the Southeastern Conference or NCAA tournaments.
The portal closes April 20, but right now Caldwell only has one recruit committed for the upcoming season in four-star guard Gabby Minus.
Caldwell also had an assistant leave first to work for Kim Mulkey at LSU before being hired as the new head coach at UCF on Saturday. Tennessee fired assistant coach Roman Tubner with Caldwell confirming his departure Thursday night.
She hired former Florida State associate head coach Bill Ferrara as an assistant March 30 for his experience with high-scoring offenses, 3-point shooting and recruiting. Caldwell also announced Tuesday hiring Isoken Uzamere, a former Georgia assistant, to her staff.
