Lady Vols basketball’s transfer portal roster reconstruction is nearly complete. With the addition of the commitment from East Carolina guard Kennedy Fauntleroy on Monday night, Tennessee now has 14 players rostered for next season. That leaves just one spot remaining to be filled.
This comes after the Lady Vols lost their entire roster following last season. Due to a mix of a lack of eligibility and all potential returners departing for the portal, Kim Caldwell had just one incoming freshman, Gabby Minus, signed up to play. Now, she’s added another class of 2026 signee and 12 transfer portal commitments.
“I think one thing is we were almost trying to scare people away with telling them how hard we were going to work, of this is how hard this is going to be,” Caldwell said about her portal efforts. “You have to really want to do this. I think it gets really easy to start to try to out-recruit people and sell, sell. We can do this for you. Tennessee can do this for you. It’s an amazing brand. We kind of went the exact opposite this way, and say, ‘No, you are here to help Tennessee. This is how hard it’s going to be. You have to believe in yourself enough to do it.'”
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Here’s an updated look at the roster and outgoing portal movement:
Roster
Returners
- None
Incoming Transfers
- G Avery Mills (Liberty)
- G Naomi White (Northern Arizona)
- F Harper Peterson (Stanford)
- F Zhen Craft (Georgia)
- G Rylie Theuerkauf (Georgia)
- G Harissoum Coulibaly (Auburn)
- F Fatmata Janneh (Texas A&M)
- G Kaylene Smikle (Maryland)
- G Shaelyn Steele (Penn State)
- G Jada Eads (Seton Hall)
- F Aaliyah Moore (Texas)
- G Kennedy Fauntleroy (East Carolina)
Incoming Freshmen
- G Gabby Minus
- G Irene Oboavwoduo
Departures
Transferring
- Fr. G Deniya Prawl (Louisville)
- Jr. F Alyssa Latham (Virginia Tech)
- R-So. G Kaniya Boyd (Texas A&M)
- Fr. G/F Lauren Hurst (Virginia Tech)
- Fr. G Mia Pauldo (Rutgers)
- Fr. G Mya Pauldo (Rutgers)
- R-Jr. G Talaysia Cooper (Ole Miss)
- Fr. G Jaida Civil (Ole Miss)
Out of Eligibility
- Sr. F Janiah Barker (Drafted in 2nd Round by Aces)
- Sr. F Zee Spearman (Drafted in 3rd Round by Wings)
- Sr. G Nya Robertson
- Sr. F Jersey Wolfenbarger
- R-Sr. G Kaiya Wynn (Stepped away before
postseason)
Released from Signing
- F Oliviyah Edwards (South Carolina)
Dismissed from Team Before the Season
- Sr. G Ruby Whitehorn (Arizona State)
