We’re just weeks away from the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season getting underway. This means Kim Caldwell is coming up on year two as the Lady Vols basketball head coach after a successful opening season at Tennessee. With expectations growing, the AP Poll reflects the hype brewing in Knoxville.
On Tuesday, the preseason AP Poll for women’s basketball was revealed, ranking the Lady Vols as the No. 8 team in the country.
The Lady Vols are one of eight SEC teams in the top 25, coming in behind No. 2 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 LSU and No. 6 Oklahoma and ahead of No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 19 Vanderbilt and No. 24 Kentucky.
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Here is the Lady Vols’ full schedule for the 2025-26 season, including AP Poll rankings for each opponent
- Nov. 4: vs. No. 9 NC State (Greensboro)
- Nov. 7: vs. ETSU
- Nov. 9: at UT Martin
- Nov. 13: vs. Belmont
- Nov. 20: at MTSU
- Nov. 23: vs. Coppin State
- Nov. 30: at No. 3 UCLA
- Dec. 3: at Stanford
- Dec. 14: vs. Winthrop
- Dec. 20: vs. No. 20 Louisville (Brooklyn)
- Dec. 22: vs. Southern Indiana
- Jan. 1: vs. Florida
- Jan. 4: at Auburn
- Jan. 8: at Mississippi State
- Jan. 11: vs. Arkansas
- Jan. 18: at Alabama
- Jan. 22: vs. No. 24 Kentucky
- Jan. 26: at No. 12 Ole Miss
- Jan. 29: vs. Mississippi State
- Feb. 1: at No. 1 UConn
- Feb. 5: at Georgia
- Feb. 8: at No. 2 South Carolina
- Feb. 12: vs. Missouri
- Feb. 15: vs. No. 4 Texas
- Feb. 19: vs. Texas A&M
- Feb. 22: at No. 6 Oklahoma
- Feb. 26: at No. 5 LSU
- March 1: vs. No. 19 Vanderbilt
The Lady Vols will also meet North Carolina for a closed-door scrimmage during its preparation for the season. Fans can get their first look at the program in 2025 on Oct. 29 in an exhibition against Columbus State in Knoxville.
Tennessee returns a good bit of production, including Talaysia Cooper, Ruby Whitehorn and Zee Spearman. The Lady Vols also brought in three highly-touted transfers in Janiah Barker, Jersey Wolfenbarger and Nya Robertson. Caldwell signed five freshmen, as well, including McDonald’s All-Americans Mia Pauldo, Deniya Prawl and Jaida Civil.
