The Lady Vols basketball made their 2025-26 public debut on Wednesday night in an exhibition against Columbus State. Tennessee had no issue in the game that won’t count toward the regular season, beating its Division II opponent 148-48 at home.
Here are three quick takeaways on our first look at Tennessee in the exhibition matchup.
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The First Look at the Rotation
Kim Caldwell has said in the past that her ideal rotation looks like 10-11 players getting mixed in and out in a competitive game. While every player on the roster got on the floor as early as the first half, we might have gotten a glimpse into the rotations with the first units on the floor.
To start, it was transfers Nya Robertson and Janiah Barker and returners Ruby Whitehorn, Talaysia Cooper and Zee Spearman on the floor. Those five will undoubtedly play a lot this year and be consistent names in the rotating starting lineup.
The first three off the bench were another trio of names we expected to hear a lot this year. Freshmen Jaida Civil and Mia Pauldo joined transfer Jersey Wolfenbarger on the floor. The group to follow was returner Alyssa Latham and freshman Mya Pauldo. That’s 10 right there, with one spot theoretically still for the grabbing.
The players who entered after this first 10 were Kaniya Boyd, Kaiya Wynn, Lauren Hurst and Deniya Prawl. There’s still one more spot to get to the theoretical cap of 11 that any of those could take, or they could take a role from one of the projected top 10.
Either way, we’ll get a much better look in the season-opener. The No. 8 Lady Vols play No. 9 NC State in Greensboro and won’t have time to mess around with too many combinations.
Pair of Freshmen Stand Out
All five of the Lady Vols’ freshmen got the chance to play a decent amount in the win. Two stood head and shoulders above the rest, though. McDonald’s All-Americans Mia Pauldo and Jaida Civil have been talked highly of all offseason and backed it up on the floor.
Pauldo finished the game with a tie for the team-high 18 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 on 3-pointers. She wasn’t just a scorer, either. Pauldo produced seven assists and came up with four steals to earn a box +/- of 48 in 17 minutes.
Civil dropped 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field. She also notched four rebounds, two steals and three steals. She had a +/- of 39 in 14 minutes.
Both look ready to go now. There energy and effort is there alongside a clear skillset that you can’t teach. There may be some freshman growing pains, but overall, you couldn’t ask for a better start against an inferior opponent.
Janiah Barker on Triple Double Watch
Tennessee was clearly very excited about the addition of UCLA transfer Janiah Barker. It was a recruitment that came down to the wire. In the exhibition, it was obvious why there was so much buzz.
Barker nearly dropped an untraditional triple-double with points, rebounds and steals. She produced 15 points (including a three), 10 rebounds and six steals. She also threw in four assists and a block.
In her unofficial Tennessee debut, that was good for a jaw-dropping +62 box +/- in just 19 minutes on the floor. She’s already appearing on WNBA mock drafts and could be a key piece of a deep postseason run when things are all said and done this year.
She also seemed to find a home atop the press. With her size and athleticism, she was almost like a free safety ball-hawking deep passes for interceptions. She’s then instantly comfortable putting the ball on the floor and running in transition. As she continues to get comfortable there, it could be a dangerous weapon.
One Response
You’re reading way to much into this! The he opponent was very inferior. This won’t happen in the regular season nor in sec play. And hey have no true BIG. Two years in a row now without one. That will continue to keep them having deep tournament runs in the sec and ncàa tourneys. I see a loss at nc state happening because of that.