After landing the No. 2 recruiting class in her first year on the job, Lady Vols basketball coach Kim Caldwell is off to a terrific start in the 2026 cycle. Just a few weeks ago, she landed No. 2 overall recruit Oliviyah Edwards. Caldwell is also looking ahead, though. Last Friday, she extended an offer to five-star point guard Cece Dennis in the class of 2027.
Dennis is a junior in high school who stands at 5-foot-6, according to 247. On 247 composite, she clocks in as the No. 31 recruit and No. 3 point guard in the country. She is out of Fairburn, Georgia, and is considered the No. 3 player out of the Peach State.
Dennis has reeled in some quality offers outside of Tennessee, as well. She already holds offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Miami, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida State, Houston, Georgia, Louisville, Baylor, SMU, Central Florida, Florida and Virginia Tech. She has taken visits to Auburn, Georgia and Mississippi State so far.
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Last week, Caldwell explained her pitch to top recruits in the country. With Dennis considered one of the top point guard options in her class, she certainly heard it from Caldwell when she was offered.
“I think we’re getting recruits that see what we’re building and want to be a part of what we’re building,” Caldwell said. “It’s a great opportunity to be a part of a class that helps a program get back on the national scene. And that’s really what we’re selling, is maybe I don’t have the tenure that some of the other SEC coaches or some of the other coaches that they’re going on these visits have. But if they want to be a great player on a team that is still establishing theirselves and we’re still establishing what we are trying to do, they could go…
“We’re recruiting the top kids in the country. And so, they could go to another program and be another good player on a great team. Or they could come here, and they could be the face of something, the start of something. And that’s really our pitch. I think if you get recruits here on a football game day or a weekend, I think that kind of sells itself. I think anytime we walk around and families see that Knoxville bleeds orange, there’s a lot here that speaks for itself on our visits.”
Currently, there is no confirmed visit set up for Dennis to see Tennessee. That could be something in the works, though, as Dennis isn’t too far from UT’s campus.
