The Lady Vols haven't had the best season. Many expected Kim Caldwell to take the next step as the head coach of Tennessee Women's basketball, but she has had a mediocre year by Tennessee's standards. The Lady Vols are 16-12 this year and 8-8 in SEC play. They are currently projected to be a No. 7 seed in ESPN's bracketology, but with a good week at the SEC tournament, they could move up to the No. 6 line. Last year, Tennessee fell in the sweet 16, and making it to the second weekend will be very hard this year. However, it's not impossible.
Despite the mediocre year, the Lady Vols are still drawing in a massive audience. According to Nielsen, the Tennessee women's basketball team is third in the nation in TV ratings. The Lady Vols still boast a national brand that women's college basketball fans seek to see each time they play. This shows the brand is still alive and well, and should help Caldwell in recruiting moving forward. The Tennessee brand is still drawing eyes, despite not being as good as usual, which is a huge plus.
Most-watched women's college basketball teams through February 25, via @nielsen📺
— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) March 4, 2026
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Tennessee needs a big run in March
Caldwell has the vote of confidence from athletic director Danny White. She said, “It means a lot. We know what we thought this season was going to be, and we know what it is to this point, but there’s a lot of season left. Right now, I want to focus on the team I have going into SEC play and do as well as we can there, and then into the NCAA tournament.”
Coach Caldwell does have the right mindset, and is still focusing gon the task at hand. If the Lady Vols can have a deep March run, fans will forget the struggles of the regular season.