The 2026–27 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team will represent the University of Tennessee in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Volunteers, led by third-year head coach Kim Caldwell, will play their games at the Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee as members of the Southeastern Conference.
On July 23, junior transfer guard Avery Mills announced on Instagram that she had suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in her right knee, and had undergone season-ending surgery. Caldwell had previously said on July 7 that Mills would be sidelined "for an extended period of time."
Previous season
The Lady Volunteers finished the 2025–26 season with their worst record in program history, at 16–14 overall and 8–8 in SEC play, to finish sixth in the conference. As the #6 seed in the SEC tournament, they were upset in the second round by #11 Alabama 64–76.
Following the tournament loss, the Lady Vols earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were seeded #10 in the Fort Worth Regional #3, making it their second lowest seed ever in the tournament behind the #11 seed 2019–20 team. They were eliminated in the first round by #7 seed, unranked NC State.
On November 2, 2025, prior to the start of the season, senior guard Ruby Whitehorn was dismissed from the program due to a second misdemeanor drug charge. She was previously suspended for a misdemeanor aggravated trespassing and burglary charge. She later transferred to Arizona State.
Following the conclusion of the season, the Lady Vols saw one of the biggest mass exoduses in college basketball history, with no players returning for the 2026–27 season. All eight remaining scholarship players entered the transfer portal, alongside four graduates and a de-commit from No. 2 ranked 2026 recruit Oliviyah Edwards in April.
Offseason Departures Tennessee departures Janiah Barker 0 Forward 6'4" Senior Marietta, GA Graduated; drafted 29th overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2026 WNBA draft Nya Robertson 1 Guard 5'7" Senior Fort Worth, TX Graduated Ruby Whitehorn 2 Guard 6'0" Senior Detroit, MI Dismissed from program, transferred to Arizona State Kaniya Boyd 4 Guard 5'9" Sophomore Las Vegas, NV Transferred to Texas A&M Kaiya Wynn 5 Guard 6'0" Senior Nashville, TN Graduated Lauren Hurst 7 Guard-forward 6'3" Freshman Cleveland, TN Transferred to Virginia Tech Jersey Wolfenbarger 8 Forward 6'5" Senior Fort Smith, AR Graduated Zee Spearman 11 Forward 6'4" Senior Dacula, GA Graduated; drafted 31st overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2026 WNBA draft Mya Pauldo 12 Guard 5'6" Freshman Paterson, NJ Transferred to Rutgers Mia Pauldo 13 Guard 5'6" Freshman Paterson, NJ Transferred to Rutgers Jaida Civil 15 Guard 6'0" Freshman Vero Beach, FL Transferred to Ole Miss Deniya Prawl 25 Guard 6'2" Freshman Toronto, ON Transferred to Louisville Alyssa Latham 33 Forward 6'2" Junior Glenwood, IL Transferred to Virginia Tech Talaysia Cooper 55 Guard 6'0" Junior Turbeville, SC Transferred to Ole Miss
Incoming transfers Tennessee incoming transfers Kaylene Smikle 0 Guard 6'0" 5th year Bay Shore, NY Maryland Avery Mills 1 Guard 5'9" Junior Lynchburg, VA Liberty Harissoum Coulibaly 2 Guard 5'10" Sophomore Paris, France Auburn Zhen Craft 8 Forward 6'2" Sophomore Waldorf, MD Georgia Shaelyn Steele 9 Guard 5'6" Junior Ashland, KY Penn State Jada Eads 10 Guard 5'7" Junior Orlando, FL Seton Hall Rylie Theuerkauf 14 Guard 5'9" Senior Tenafly, NJ Georgia Harper Peterson 15 Forward 6'3" Junior Rocklin, CA Stanford Riley Makalusky 21 Forward 6'2" Senior Fishers, IN West Virginia Naomi White 25 Guard 5'9" Junior Omaha, NE Northern Arizona Aaliyah Moore 31 Forward 6'1" 6th year Moore, OK Texas Kennedy Fauntleroy 35 Guard 5'7" 5th year Upper Marlboro, MD East Carolina Fatmata Janneh 44 Forward 6'2" Senior London, England Texas A&M
Recruiting class
Roster Years are listed according to new NCAA 5-in-5 eligibility regulations.
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=9 style=""| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=9 style=""| SEC regular season
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References