The Lady Vols basketball schedule now has the opening game of the 2025-26 season’s details finalized.
Tennessee will head to Greensboro for a neutral-site clash with NC State. The game will officially be played on Nov. 4, begin at 4 p.m. ET and air on ESPN2.
This will be the first regular-season game for the Lady Vols in Kim Caldwell’s second season atop the program. UT will take to Food City Center in Knoxville on Oct. 29 in an exhibition against Division II Columbus State (Ga.) as its first public showing with the new team, though.
Tennessee enters the year being tasked to replace key contributors such as Jewel Spear, Samara Spencer, Sara Puckett, Jillian Hollingshead and Tess Darby. The Lady Vols did a great job of reloading, though. Tennessee adds the No. 1 transfer class in the country through Janiah Barker (UCLA), Jersey Wolfenbarger (LSU) and Nya Robertson (SMU). It also signed five freshmen for the No. 2-ranked class in the 2025 cycle, according to ESPNW.
The Lady Vols return significant pieces such as Talaysia Cooper, Zee Spearman, Ruby Whitehorn, Kaiya Wynn, Kaniya Boyd and Alyssa Latham, as well.
This group will have a gauntlet of an out-of-conference schedule to play before beginning SEC play. Tennessee has road games against UT Martin, MTSU, UCLA, Stanford and UConn. It will also meet NC State and Louisville (Brooklyn) at neutral sites.
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This will now be the 17th meeting between the programs. The Lady Vols are 12-4 all-time, but are currently on a one-game losing streak. In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Tennessee lost to NC State on the road in the Round of 32. This would be the final game Kellie Harper coached with the Lady Vols.
The teams have never met in Greensboro, but have met four times on neutral courts. Tennessee is 3-1 in those games.
This year’s clash will be between two of the top projected teams in the country. In ESPN’s way-too-early rankings, the Lady Vols clock in as the No. 7 team in the country. NC State sits at No. 9, making it a possible top-10 clash once official rankings are revealed closer to the start of the season.
