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Why the Lady Vols’ recruiting revival under Kim Caldwell is important

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Why the Lady Vols’ recruiting revival under Kim Caldwell is important

Kim Caldwell and her staff have signed the Lady Vols basketball team’s top-rated 2017 high school recruiting class.

Tennessee’s 2025 class was ranked No. 2 in the country by ESPN. Five players signed with the Lady Vols in the fall, and three of them are ranked in the top 35. Mia Pauldo (No. 11), Denia Prowl (No. 14), Jayda Civil (No. 32), Lauren Hurst (No. 42) and Maya Pauldo (No. 56) make up Caldwell High School’s first recruiting class.

That’s why the Lady Vols’ recruiting revival is so significant.

The Lady Vols needed to make a splash with their 2025 class.

Tennessee is stagnating, with its high school enrollment in its last three classes. It shortlisted schools for elite recruits but did not make a deal.

This is a trend that needed to be stopped quickly. You don’t want players to start wondering why no one wants to play at Tennessee and plant doubt in their minds. You certainly can’t allow other programs to use it for negative recruiting.

High school recruiting was perhaps the most important aspect that had to change with the new staff, and Caldwell’s staff completely flipped the script.

Her first lesson was important because Caldwell needed to show she could recruit after transferring from Marshall. She needed to show she could compete for top prospects and win recruiting battles.

Tennessee needed to show it was competitive in the NIL department.

Tennessee has only signed two high school players in its previous three recruiting cycles. He didn’t sign any rookies in 2023.

That’s not to say that zero deals were the only reason players didn’t sign with the Lady Vols, but it would be naive to ignore what was going on behind the scenes. Tennessee had to prove it could compete in this area with elite recruits, and it did just that with this signing class.

UT’s highest-ranked recruit signed since NIL entered the college realm was Justine Pissott, ranked No. 11 in the 2022 class. But she committed two years early, in 2020, to zero. Pissott, who now plays for Vanderbilt, was also ranked No. 49 at the time of her appearance. The Lady Vols haven’t landed high-profile recruits in the NIL era, and they had to prove it could be done with the 2025 class.

The talent shortage will only increase

The ability to recruit through the transfer portal is important, but it’s impossible to keep up with the amount of talent at top programs unless you’re recruiting elite talent out of high school.

And yes, Tennessee has acquired incredible talent through the transfer portal (see: Rickey Jackson), but the team still faces an adjustment period. Getting a transfer player for more than two seasons is rare, and it’s difficult to build a program with that much turnover.

The talent coming out of high school is getting better and the players entering college are more polished than ever. Last season, the Class of 2023 made a major impact on their teams across the country and made headlines every week, while Tennessee had none.

If the Lady Vols don’t start gaining momentum among their high school recruits, the talent gap between them and top programs will only widen with each passing class. And if they want to compete in the SEC and national championships, high school recruiting is a huge task.

A large recruiting class was not a want, but a necessity.

Tennessee has signed five players ranked in ESPN’s top 100 rankings. This is the first time UT has signed five players in one class since 2008, when the Lady Vols added six players from the top 35.

Teams don’t always need top quality, but this time Tennessee absolutely does. The Lady Vols will lose at least six players to eligibility after this season. That number was seven before senior guard Kaya Wynn suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Wynn is redshirting and will complete his eligibility next season.

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Fifth-year senior guard Destiny Wells could also potentially return next season on a medical redshirt. Even with Wells, there will only be eight returning scholarship players on the roster, with five of them being seniors. That’s a lot of spots to fill with transfers that will fit Caldwell’s system, and the roster will be even thinner for the 2026-27 season.

The 2025 class gives Tennessee a strong foundation to build the program on, something it has lacked the last few seasons.

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter. @corahall. If you like Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you access to it all..