Former Tennessee guard and current ESPN analyst Andraya Carter gave her honest thoughts on the current state of the Lady Vols’ program during Sunday’s College GameDay broadcast. Tennessee plays at Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon, but the Lady Vols are trying to snap a three-game losing streak with the conference game on the road. Kim Caldwell’s team is 16-9 on the season, but has dropped four of its last five games.
Carter spoke her mind on her alma mater’s program for two straight minutes on the television broadcast, but fit enough words to make it seem like an hour-long seminar. Carter spoke about the fans’ reaction to the quitting narrative, the players’ belief in the system, why the system can hurt the team when things aren’t working, creating buy-in within the program, and more.
Here’s a look at Carter’s segment on ESPN’s College GameDay on Sunday:
“If you’re a coach, you are required to figure out a system that fits your players. There’s no amount of NIL money that can buy buy-in.”@Andraya_Carter on the Lady Vols season under Kim Caldwell 👀 pic.twitter.com/c4UFfMBDpZ
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) February 22, 2026
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“This Tennessee team, it doesn’t look like they believe in the system,” Carter said. “I’m interested to see what’s going to budge. Is the team going to budge, or is the system going to budge? Because if you’re a coach, you are required to figure out a system that fits your players. There’s no amount of NIL money that can buy buy-in. You can’t purchase buy-in. You have to create it as a collective with the team and within the staff, and it’s not happening right now.”
The Lady Vols have gone through a rough patch since the end of January. Starting with Tennessee’s upset loss to Mississippi State on Jan. 29, the Lady Vols have lost to UConn, South Carolina, Texas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. All of those teams aside from Mississippi State and Texas A&M are ranked programs, but it’s ultimately led to six losses in the last eight games with only three games left in the season.
Tennessee will try to snap its three-game losing streak and get back on track against Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon in Norman, OK. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for complete postgame coverage on Sunday.
