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Eric TrainerWomen’s BasketballMay 14, 2024
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee’s 2024-25 SEC opponents have been revealed, as the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon each school’s league foes for the upcoming campaign.
As part of the 16-game SEC schedule awaiting first-year UT head coach Kim Caldwell, the Lady Vols play host to Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
On the road, UT will battle against Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee already has met Oklahoma and Texas on a fairly frequent basis despite not being in the same conference until now. UT defeated the Sooners, 76-73, last season on Nov. 25 at the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida to improve to 6-1 in the all-time series. The Lady Vols possess a 26-16 record in meetings with the Longhorns, last squaring off in Knoxville on Nov. 21, 2021, in a 74-70 Big Orange win in overtime.
The deadline for fans wishing to renew Lady Vol season tickets is June 12, and they may do so here. Those wishing to reserve new season tickets may purchase them at this link.
The SEC schedule consists of a single round robin of home or away (14 games) with one rotating opponent that will be played at home and away (two games). Each team will compete in eight home games and eight away games. The rotating opponent changes annually, and that foe for Tennessee this season is LSU.
This marks the 16th season of the 16-game schedule for SEC women’s basketball and the first-ever with 16 teams now that Oklahoma and Texas are onboard. Times, dates and television information for the 2024-25 SEC schedule will be released at a later date, as will the Lady Vol non-conference slate.
Seven of the league opponents UT will face are ranked among ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early Top 25,” including defending NCAA champion South Carolina at No. 1, 2023 NCAA champ LSU at No. 7 and SEC newcomer Texas at No. 6. Those rankings were published on May 1 before the Lady Vols added standout guards Samara Spencer and Ruby Whitehorn via the transfer portal.
UT returns eight players who saw action in 2023-24, including five who started games on a squad that finished 20-13 overall and 10-6 in the SEC (t4th). That unit fell on the road in the NCAA Second Round to eventual Final Four participant NC State. Top returnees include 5-foot-10 senior guard Jewel Spear (13.1 ppg.,4.4 rpg., 69 3FGs) and 6-2 senior guard/forward Sara Puckett (9.9 ppg., 4.9 rpg., 38 3FGs), who were the only Lady Vols to start all 33 games a year ago.
Other regular contributors back are 5-6 redshirt senior guard Destinee Wells (6.8 ppg., 3.5 apg., 2.3 rpg., 10 games before season-ending injury), 6-1 fifth-year guard/forward Tess Darby (5.2 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 44 3FGs), 6-5 senior forward Jillian Hollingshead (4.6 ppg., 4.2 rpg.) and 6-0 senior guard Kaiya Wynn (4.4 ppg., 2.6 rpg.).
Two talented players who sat out the 2023-24 campaign are set to make their debuts in 2024-25. Talaysia Cooper, a 6-0 redshirt sophomore guard who was a McDonald’s All-American and the No. 18 prospect in the 2022 espnW 100, transferred to UT after playing in 2022-23 at South Carolina (2.9 ppg., 1.8 rpg., 1.3 apg.). She is joined by 5-9 redshirt freshman guard Kaniya Boyd, an early enrollee in January 2024 after being ranked No. 35 in the 2024 espnW 100.
Incoming transfers include Spencer, a 5-7 senior guard from Arkansas; Whitehorn, a 5-11 junior guard from Clemson; Alyssa Latham, a 6-2 sophomore forward from Syracuse; and Lazaria Spearman, a 6-4 junior forward from Miami. Spencer, Whitehorn and Latham each earned conference all-freshman team honors during their college careers, and Spencer was chosen as the SEC Freshman of the Year in her first collegiate season in 2021-22.
Spencer and Whitehorn each averaged double figures in scoring in 2023-24, with Spencer putting up 13.9 ppg. and 3.8 rpg., while Whitehorn produced 12.3 ppg. and 5.6 rpg. Spencer added 115 assists, 43 steals and 40 three-pointers, while Whitehorn tallied 51 dimes, 45 takeaways and 25 long balls.
Latham and Spearman led their previous teams in rebounding, averaging 7.0 and 6.0 per contest, respectively, while also putting up 8.6 and 6.3 ppg. Latham earned 26 starts as a freshman for SU last season, while Spearman reported to the jump circle on 10 occasions for the Hurricanes.
