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Tennessee Lady Vols add Australian guard; Kellie Harper on a recruiting roll

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Tennessee Volunteers fans get ready before a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Tennessee Volunteers fans get ready before a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols added another player to the 2019 recruiting class. Australian guard Jessie Rennie joined the women’s basketball Volunteers.

A week after hiring head coach Kellie Harper, the Tennessee Lady Vols had a bittersweet period of personnel by getting a sixth year of eligibility from Lou Brown despite losing Evina Westbrook to transfer. But the recruiting trail is where the good news has remained.

There was a concern if they would keep the players from their top 10 class, and so far, all three commitments have stayed, most notably five-star guard Jordan Horston. But five-star post player Tamari Key and three-star post player Emily Saunders are both 6’5″ and were key pieces to the class as well, and they’ve both stayed.

On Thursday, though, Harper added to the class to turn it into a unit that could almost be a solid starting five on its own. Harper announced that 5’6″ guard Jessie Rennie out of Australia committed to the Tennessee Lady Vols.

According to UTSports, Rennie is an elite sharpshooter. She shot 36.4 percent from three in 2017 before suffering a torn ACL and missing 2018. However, she has now recovered and brings her elite shooting all the way to Rocky Top.

Given that Horston is an elite, athletic scoring guard and Saunders and Key provide incredible size down low, the addition of Rennie as a sharpshooter really improves the personnel of this team, even with the loss of Westrbook. Add in Brown, a post player who can stretch the floor, and this team has already been able to upgrade with some serious talent Harper’s first year.

Funny enough, Rennie will be the second player on the team from Australia. Brown, who transferred from Australia, is also from there. That’s a bit of a unique thing that applies to a women’s college basketball team.

The big thing now for Harper and the Tennessee Lady Vols, however, is identifying a true point guard with Westbrook gone. Maybe Rennie can be that person, and there’s still Zaay Green. One of them will be needed to step up. If they can, the off-guard scorers are set with the addition of Horston and Rennia Davis still on the team.

This class also sets up the post as well. And even if she can’t fulfill the point guard duties, Rennie is a major addition simply due to her ability to stretch the court as an outside shooter. She really makes this a complete recruiting class and allows for Harper’s first team to be very dangerous heading into next year.