Following a gauntlet of an out-of-conference schedule a year ago for Lady Vols basketball, Kim Caldwell and company are piecing together what the 2026-27 season will look like outside of SEC play. On Wednesday, a major piece of the non-conference slate was revealed.
Tennessee will meet Baylor in Nashville on Dec. 18, 2026, at Bridgestone Arena. The tip-off time and broadcast details are not yet revealed.
Also on the docket that day will be a game between two schools in Nashville. Vanderbilt and Belmont will square off in a game following the Lady Vols’ matchup with the Bears.
Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday at 11 a.m. ET (10 CT) at this link.
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This meeting will be the ninth time Tennessee and Baylor have met in women’s basketball and the first since 2016. However, the Bears lead the series 6-2. This comes on a six-game win streak over the Lady Vols after dropping the first two meetings between the programs. In neutral site matchups, Tennessee is 1-2 against Baylor.
The Bears are coming off a season in which they finished 25-9 (13-5 Big 12) and finished third in the conference. This resulted in a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Baylor beat 11-seed Nebraska in the opening round before getting blown out by 3-seed Duke on the Blue Devils’ home floor in the Round of 32.
Tennessee had a disastrous end to last season, but is looking to get back on track in year three under Caldwell. The Lady Vols have an entirely new 15-player roster and hired two new assistant coaches and a video coordinator to fill in gaps on her staff. The result is a way-too-early ranking of No. 25 in the country by USA TODAY.
