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Ranking departing Tennessee Lady Vols by toughest to replace

By Caleb Calhoun

Feb 27, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols seniors forward Alexus Dye (2) and forward Keyen Green (13) and guard Rae Burrell (12) pose before a game on senior day against the LSU Lady Tigers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols seniors forward Alexus Dye (2) and forward Keyen Green (13) and guard Rae Burrell (12) pose before a game on senior day against the LSU Lady Tigers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee’s Emily Saunders (31) during a pause in the exhibition game with Carson-Newman on Tuesday, October 29, 2019.Kns Lady Vols Carson Newman
Tennessee’s Emily Saunders (31) during a pause in the exhibition game with Carson-Newman on Tuesday, October 29, 2019.Kns Lady Vols Carson Newman /

There are tons of expectations surrounding the Tennessee Lady Vols entering next year, and they are justified. UT adds a five-star wing in Justine Pissott, and they also added transfers Jillian Hollingshead, Rickea Jackson, Jasmine Powell and Jasmine Franklin. For the first time in years, they have a maxed out roster of 15 scholarship players.

However, that doesn’t mean that everything will be smooth next season. Kellie Harper has a couple of players who need to get fully healthy after missing some or all of this past year due to injury, and she also has key players she has to be able to replace.

This post will break down the players who have left the program based on how tough they are to replace. That criteria includes how valuable they were individually and the players coming in or returning who can fill the voids they are leaving. Four Tennessee Lady Vols are gone. Here’s how they rank in terms of difficulty to replace.

Transferred to Youngstown State Penguins

A three-star in UT’s 2019 class, the first of Kellie Harper’s Emily Saunders was always expected to be somewhat of a project. She came in at 6’5″, but Tamari Key was in the same class and was always set to be the superstar center of the group. Saunders was just never able to develop into the role of at least the backup center.

For her career, she averaged one and a half points in just over five minutes a game. Her most productive year was her freshman year, and she saw her minutes actually decrease after that. Last year, Karoline Striplin emerged as a post player, really icing Saunders out.

As a result, Saunders has transferred to the Youngstown State Penguins. That dips the Tennessee Lady Vols’ length a bit, but it doesn’t do much more. Everybody on Rocky Top should wish her well in her new role. However, with Key coming back and Striplin likely to develop further entering her sophomore year, this isn’t a big loss.