The Lady Vols basketball program can recruit itself if Tennessee hires the right person to run it. It looks like we're heading back in that direction after several years of being less than great on the recruiting trail.
Kim Caldwell's fun, up-tempo, explosive offense, and restrictive, hard-nosed defense have made Knoxville an attractive place again for women's basketball.
She's not going for the highest-ranked recruits or the best players available but recruiting players that fit her system and play style. We've seen this work out pretty well so far for Rick Barnes and Josh Heupel when they recruit through the portal.
Caldwell has already recruited her own roster, returning Tess Darby and Jewel Spear, who combined for 18.3 points and 7.8 rebounds last year. Syracuse transfer forward Alyssa Latham is also joining the Vols after averaging 8.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game last season as a freshman.
Miami transfer forward Lazaria Spearman and Arkansas transfer guard Samara Spencer join Latham in transferring to Tennessee. Spencer is another high-level shooter, while Spearman is a paint presence and playmaker down low the Lady Vols need in the paint.
Caldwell's work hasn't stopped there. Clemson transfer guard Ruby Whitehorn has also committed to the Lady Vols coming off an ACC All-Freshman Team, averaging 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. She was also a 2022 McDonald's All-American out of high school and brings another playmaker to the Vols lineup.
With the addition of Whitehorn, it's clear Caldwell is playing aggressively in the transfer portal to craft the team she needs to be successful in her system. In the last stop on the Big Orange Caravan, she also mentioned that she's not done recruiting as she looks to add one more player to the 2024-25 roster.