Latest news with #KimCaldwell
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kim Caldwell details All-ACC transfer who will be 'a perfect fit' for Lady Vols
Tennessee announced the signing of transfer guard Nya Robertson to the Lady Vols' 2025-26 basketball roster. The 5-foot-7 guard played at SMU during the 2024-25 season and earned All-ACC Second Team honors. She appeared in 27 contests, including 25 starts, for the Mustangs, averaging 18.5 points, three rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Advertisement Robertson led SMU in scoring during 19 games last season. She also converted 62 three-point attempts and 111 free throws. "We are excited about Nya," second-year Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell said. "She is going to be a perfect fit for us, because she can play at our speed and be a three-level scorer. She flies around on defense, pushes pace and can help us right away." Robertson transferred to SMU from George Washington ahead of the 2024-25 season. She appeared in 48 games, including 24 starts, at George Washington from 2022-24. Robertson is from Boswell High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Advertisement PHOTOS: Kim Caldwell through the years Follow us at @VolsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of University of Tennessee athletics. This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Lady Vols sign All-ACC basketball transfer guard
USA Today
20-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kim Caldwell details All-ACC transfer who will be 'a perfect fit' for Lady Vols
Kim Caldwell details All-ACC transfer who will be 'a perfect fit' for Lady Vols Tennessee announced the signing of transfer guard Nya Robertson to the Lady Vols' 2025-26 basketball roster. The 5-foot-7 guard played at SMU during the 2024-25 season and earned All-ACC Second Team honors. She appeared in 27 contests, including 25 starts, for the Mustangs, averaging 18.5 points, three rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Robertson led SMU in scoring during 19 games last season. She also converted 62 three-point attempts and 111 free throws. "We are excited about Nya," second-year Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell said. "She is going to be a perfect fit for us, because she can play at our speed and be a three-level scorer. She flies around on defense, pushes pace and can help us right away." Robertson transferred to SMU from George Washington ahead of the 2024-25 season. She appeared in 48 games, including 24 starts, at George Washington from 2022-24. Robertson is from Boswell High School in Fort Worth, Texas. PHOTOS: Kim Caldwell through the years Follow us at @VolsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of University of Tennessee athletics.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Kim Caldwell's Lady Vols will make Final Four before Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Basketball national championships were decided Sunday and Monday, and Tennessee wasn't involved. That's not a shocking development. The Tennessee men have never have made the Final Four, and the Lady Vols haven't made the Final Four since they won a national title in 2008. Advertisement Just because you aren't cutting down nets hardly constitutes failure, though. The Vols won 30 games and reached the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. The Lady Vols reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in coach Kim Caldwell's first season. Both accomplishments are noteworthy. But the Lady Vols are more likely to make another Final Four before the Vols make their first Final Four − for multiple reasons. First, there's history to consider. The Lady Vols have never failed to make the NCAA tournament. And even though they are far removed from their glory days, their glory days under coach Pat Summitt included eight national championships, more than any other program except UConn's. Advertisement The history of the men's program is altogether different. You can't ignore the obvious: It's 0-for-forever in Final Fours. Rick Barnes is a masterful program builder. He has proved that wherever he has coached. Thanks to him, UT basketball has never enjoyed so much sustained success. He has led them to seven consecutive NCAA tournaments and an average of 27 victories per season the past four years. But as good as his teams have been, they haven't been Final Four good. They just haven't fared as well as in the postseason. You can't dismiss that track record when considering future postseasons. I tried dismissing it this March, and Houston proved me wrong by dominating the Vols for most of their Elite Eight matchup. Advertisement That track record isn't the only reason to believe the Lady Vols will reach the Final Four first. We have seen the Vols' and Barnes' upside. We haven't seen Caldwell's. Maybe, the Sweet 16 is it. But I don't believe that. You could argue that her team advanced only one rung higher on the NCAA tournament ladder than her predecessor did. And Kellie Harper was fired after the 2023-24 season. But look below the tournament surface. Caldwell had to execute a complete overhaul to implement an unusual system that relies on a deep bench, 3-point shooting and a frantic pace. She made that extreme transition by combining players who were recruited for a different system with well chosen transfers. She also signed the nation's second-ranked recruiting class in her first year. How many coaches could have pulled that off? Advertisement Another question: If she could do that much in one season – and have a baby in the middle of it – how much more can she do in two years? Something else to consider: It's much easier to make the women's Final Four than the men's. ADAMS: Lady Vols basketball comes up short, but long-range view is promising under Kim Caldwell Never mind that the women's game has developed more parity than when UConn and Tennessee so often decided championships between themselves. You still have far more Final Four candidates in the men's game. I'm not ruling out the possibility that both Tennessee programs eventually could advance to the Final Four. Barnes has proved he can work the transfer portal effectively, and UT has shown it can close NIL deals. That's significant. Advertisement But history favors the Lady Vols making the Final Four first. So does Caldwell's first season. John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or Follow him at: This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Kim Caldwell's Lady Vols will make Final Four before Rick Barnes
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caldwell guides Lady Vols to best end-of-season AP Poll rank since 2021
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Associated Press released its final women's top 25 poll of the 2024-2025 season on Monday with Tennessee ranking No. 15 after the first season under head coach Kim Caldwell. It's the highest end-of-season rank for the Lady Vols since they concluded the 2020-2021 season at No. 13. Tennessee entered the Top 25 in December and appeared in every subsequent edition of the poll, rising as high as No. 11 and never falling below No. 20. WATCH: One-on-one interview with Lady Vol basketball assistant coach Gabe Lazo Caldwell's first year on Rocky Top was an eventful one. She was introduced as the fourth head head coach of Tennessee in the NCAA era exactly one year ago on April 7, 2024. Tennessee started the season on a 13-game winning streak, ending the longest absence from the Associated Press Top 25 poll in program history. The Lady Vols defeated UConn for the first time since 2007 in February. She guided Tennessee to 24 wins and appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. She gave birth to her first child in January and returned to the sidelines after missing just one game. THE LATEST: University of Tennessee Basketball news Tennessee rewarded her with a one-year contract extension that would keep her in Knoxville until 2030. She and her staff have landed a top-two recruiting class for next season featuring five players rated in the top 100 of espnW's rankings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Updating Lady Vols rankings in college basketball polls after Kim Caldwell's first season
Lady Vols basketball ended the season in the top 20 of both polls after entering Kim Caldwell's first season unranked. Tennessee (24-10) was ranked No. 16 in the USA TODAY coaches poll and No. 15 in the Associated Press poll in the final rankings of the 2024-25 season. The Lady Vols were No. 20 in both the coaches poll and the AP Top 25 before the NCAA tournament. They moved up in both after making a run to the Sweet 16. Tennessee was ranked as high as No. 11 in Caldwell's first season at the helm. The Lady Vols went 4-7 against ranked opponents this season, including an 80-76 win over UConn, which won the national championship Sunday. Losing to Tennessee was the last time the Huskies lost this season, and it was the Lady Vols' first win in the storied rivalry since 2007. Nine of the Lady Vols' losses were by single digits. The 24-point loss on the road to Kentucky was the only loss by more than eight points. The Lady Vols started Caldwell's first season going 13-0 before suffering their first loss, which was their best start to a season since going 15-0 in 2017-18. Their 7-0 start got them back in the rankings on Dec. 9 with wins over Florida State and then-No. 20 Iowa. Before getting ranked this season, the last time the Lady Vols had been ranked in the AP Top 25 was Week 4 of the 2023-24 season, which was released Nov. 27, 2023. Tennessee had only been ranked for 10 of the previous 45 weeks of the AP Top 25 since being ranked the entire 2021-22 season. The Lady Vols first climbed into the top 15 on Dec. 23 after winning three games away from Knoxville. Tennessee won its first true road game against Memphis and then won both its games at the West Palm Beach Classic against Richmond and Tulsa in a four-day span. Tennessee reentered the top 15 after its signature win over UConn on Feb. 6. Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora's coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where Lady Vols rank in college basketball polls after Kim Caldwell's first season
