Kim Caldwell and the Lady Vols are in the thick of multiple top-tier recruiting battles for the current 2026 class of high school seniors. This includes a war for five-star wing Bella Flemings. Tennessee may get the last word in her recruitment, though.
According to a report from 247’s Dushawn London, Flemings will take an official visit to Knoxville on Oct. 9. The Tennessee football team will play Arkansas at home that weekend. It is also the last of a string of official visits that Flemings plans on taking.
She will start the stretch of visits by checking out Miami on Aug. 29. Then, she’ll stay in the ACC to see Duke on Sept. 5. Next, the San Antonio, Texas, native will stay in her home state to see Baylor on Sept. 12 and TCU on Sept. 26. These five schools made up her top five that she announced on July 25.
Flemings is considered the No. 11 recruit in the country, according to 247 composite rankings. She is the No. 3 small forward and No. 2 player out of Texas.
“We might have gotten a glimpse of what Flemings will be at the next level during Overtime Select Championship Weekend,” Director of Women’s Basketball Scouting Brandon Clay wrote. “Flemings’ ability to make shots and keep Kate Harpring from scoring 30 points in the title game caught the attention of everyone in the media row. Flemings prevented Harpring from getting easy baskets down the stretch of the game, which is much easier said than done. On the offensive end, Flemings showed range beyond the 3-point line and a willingness to rebound as well. Her brother, Kingston, is a highly regarded prospect in his own right.”
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Flemings has not publicly announced what the timeline is on her decision. However, it’s common that commitments can be set after getting official visit looks over the fall. If this is the case, it’s a great opportunity for Tennessee to be the last team she sees.
Tennessee currently holds no commitments in the 2026 or 2027 cycles. However, in Caldwell’s first season as head coach, she inked the No. 2 class in the country, according to ESPNW. This included a trio of McDonald’s All-Americans in Mia Pauldo, Deniya Prawl and Jaida Civil. She also landed top-100 prospects Mya Pauldo and Lauren Hurst.
In the transfer portal, ESPN tabbed the Lady Vols as the best incoming class with UCLA’s Janiah Barker, LSU’s Jersey Wolfenbarger and SMU’s Nya Robertson joining.
