Top 10 Tennessee Vols legends not born in the state

She only captured one national championship with the Tennessee Lady Vols, her freshman year in 1997-1998. But that was a team that went undefeated, and Tamika Catchings was a huge part of that program.

Coming from New Jersey, Catchings took her East Coast talents to Rocky Top and flourished immediately. In fact, as a freshman that year, she helped launch what was clearly the greatest team in the history of women’s basketball. Apologies to all the UCONN Huskies teams that went undefeated, but this one is unmatched.

Catchings was a three-time player of the year for the Tennessee Lady Vols and constantly achieved national, individual recognition. Again, because this program is measured by number of titles, Catchings is not as high as she could be.

But when you talk about the Mt. Rushmore of Tennessee Lady Vols players, she is definitely on there. From 1997 to 2001, Catchings was the superstar of women’s college basketball.

Add in her WNBA career that followed with the Indiana Fever, which was legendary on its own, and there’s no denying that Catchings is a Tennessee Vols legend. She’s one of the greatest to wear an orange jersey in any sport.

If not for an injury shortening her career in 2001, she probably would have been higher on this list. After all, that’s what kept the Tennessee Lady Vols from winning the national title that year. One of only two four-time All-Americans in school history, there’s no denying Catchings’s greatness.