2027 Lady Vols Recruiting

#1,003
#1,003
Remy said:
For the life of me I cannot figure out how or why a youngster out of high school unless they're a legacy of some type considers Iowa as one of their top five locations. May as well attend the University of Mongolia. Iowa vs UCLA? C'mon I'm not sure we'd want a hs school kid that puts a place like Iowa in their top 5.
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This might be one of the more ignorant posts in awhile.
 
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#1,004
#1,004
smokyrow said:
Totally agree with you. They just don’t have the ability to give the same experiences as some of the power house schools. Plus the weather and location are not top tier.
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Well it appears ignorance likes company.
 
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#1,008
#1,008
2027s with announced offers: (*offer or reoffer by Kim posted) ESPN ranking

55 Kie'Aundria Acree* not top 6
17 Avery Arije*
8 Haylen Ayers* not top 5
3 Caroline Bradley* not top 10 to LSU
30 Taylor Brown*
13 Ryan Carter*
46 Finley Chastain To Oklahoma
54 C'India Dennis*
27 Jada Jackson* to TX Tech
18 Zaniya Johnson* not top 12
5 Eve Long* not top 5 to Notre Dame
25 Amaya Manuel*
2 Ivanna Manyacka*
44 De'Andra Minor* not top 6
NR Sydney Mobley* not top 12 to Ohio State
6 Micah Ojo*
7 Jordyn Palmer*
35 Maci Pringle
10 Qandace Samuels*
9 Sydney Savoury* not top 6
1 Kaleena Smith*
39 Jordan Speller*
11 Nation Williams not top 10
 
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#1,012
#1,012
Updated based off 247 article:

2027 Lady Vols Recruiting — Active Board

Based on the latest GoVols247 update, Tennessee’s active 2027 board appears narrowed to five prospects.

Key: Bold = Tennessee official visit scheduled or completed. Semicolons are used instead of line-break tags for VolNation formatting.

Player / School / Hometown / PosHtRatings / RankingsQuick Read / Tennessee Status
Kaleena Smith; Ontario Christian — Ontario, CA; PG5-6247Sports: #1; espnW: #1Elite point guard and the top-ranked player in the class by both 247Sports and espnW. Took an unofficial visit to Tennessee last October. Visit: official visit scheduled for Sept. 25-26. USA U18 gold medalist who averaged 19.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup. Strongest Tennessee-positive name on the board.
Qandace Samuels; Bishop McNamara — Forestville, MD; G/W6-2247Sports: #13; espnW: #10Big guard/wing with high-end scoring upside. Brandon Clay evaluation in the article describes her as one of the country’s premier wing threats, a consistent 3-point shooter off the catch or bounce, and strong enough to finish through contact. Active Tennessee recruitment; no official visit date listed in the article.
Taylor Brown; Long Island Lutheran — Glen Head, NY; roots in Delaware / Philadelphia; PG5-7247Sports: #24; espnW: #30Fast two-way point guard nicknamed “The Glove.” The article says she has the skill set and speed to play on both sides of the ball for Tennessee, can shoot from outside, get to the rim, and fit Tennessee’s system. Visit: official visit completed June 25-26. She is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last February, with recovery videos indicating progress.
Maci Pringle; Flower Mound — Flower Mound, TX; F6-1espnW: #33; 247Sports: not yet listedAthletic forward whose skill set is described as a fit for Tennessee’s style. The article notes she had an excellent summer showcase run, was Dallas Morning News girls basketball All-Area Player of the Year, led Flower Mound to its first state final, set the school season scoring record, and has sprinter’s speed. Active Tennessee recruitment; no official visit date listed in the article.
C'India "Cece" Dennis; Creekside — Fairburn, GA; PG5-6247Sports: #17; espnW: #54Quick point guard and major 2027 target. Brandon Clay evaluation in the article says she has emerged as one of the nation’s premier point guard options, has range, attacks off the bounce, and plays hard defensively. Visit: official visit scheduled for Sept. 4-6. Status: top five includes Tennessee, Florida State, Auburn, Georgia, and Clemson. She is recovering from a knee injury suffered in November 2025.

Practical read: This table is now narrowed to the five 2027 recruits GoVols247 identifies as having active Tennessee recruitments. The broad watch-list names from the earlier table should move out of the lead post or into a separate archived/watch-list section. Smith, Brown, and Dennis have clear Tennessee visit dates. Samuels and Pringle remain active board names, but the article does not list visit dates for them.
 
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#1,013
#1,013
RetroVol said:
Updated based off 247 article:

2027 Lady Vols Recruiting — Active Board

Based on the latest GoVols247 update, Tennessee’s active 2027 board appears narrowed to five prospects.

Key: Bold = Tennessee official visit scheduled or completed. Semicolons are used instead of line-break tags for VolNation formatting.

Player / School / Hometown / PosHtRatings / RankingsQuick Read / Tennessee Status
Kaleena Smith; Ontario Christian — Ontario, CA; PG5-6247Sports: #1; espnW: #1Elite point guard and the top-ranked player in the class by both 247Sports and espnW. Took an unofficial visit to Tennessee last October. Visit: official visit scheduled for Sept. 25-26. USA U18 gold medalist who averaged 19.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup. Strongest Tennessee-positive name on the board.
Qandace Samuels; Bishop McNamara — Forestville, MD; G/W6-2247Sports: #13; espnW: #10Big guard/wing with high-end scoring upside. Brandon Clay evaluation in the article describes her as one of the country’s premier wing threats, a consistent 3-point shooter off the catch or bounce, and strong enough to finish through contact. Active Tennessee recruitment; no official visit date listed in the article.
Taylor Brown; Long Island Lutheran — Glen Head, NY; roots in Delaware / Philadelphia; PG5-7247Sports: #24; espnW: #30Fast two-way point guard nicknamed “The Glove.” The article says she has the skill set and speed to play on both sides of the ball for Tennessee, can shoot from outside, get to the rim, and fit Tennessee’s system. Visit: official visit completed June 25-26. She is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last February, with recovery videos indicating progress.
Maci Pringle; Flower Mound — Flower Mound, TX; F6-1espnW: #33; 247Sports: not yet listedAthletic forward whose skill set is described as a fit for Tennessee’s style. The article notes she had an excellent summer showcase run, was Dallas Morning News girls basketball All-Area Player of the Year, led Flower Mound to its first state final, set the school season scoring record, and has sprinter’s speed. Active Tennessee recruitment; no official visit date listed in the article.
C'India "Cece" Dennis; Creekside — Fairburn, GA; PG5-6247Sports: #17; espnW: #54Quick point guard and major 2027 target. Brandon Clay evaluation in the article says she has emerged as one of the nation’s premier point guard options, has range, attacks off the bounce, and plays hard defensively. Visit: official visit scheduled for Sept. 4-6. Status: top five includes Tennessee, Florida State, Auburn, Georgia, and Clemson. She is recovering from a knee injury suffered in November 2025.

Practical read: This table is now narrowed to the five 2027 recruits GoVols247 identifies as having active Tennessee recruitments. The broad watch-list names from the earlier table should move out of the lead post or into a separate archived/watch-list section. Smith, Brown, and Dennis have clear Tennessee visit dates. Samuels and Pringle remain active board names, but the article does not list visit dates for them.
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Thanks, let’s hope for Smith. Pretty wild to be on just two players over 5’7”
 
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#1,014
#1,014
lfvol said:
Thanks, let’s hope for Smith. Pretty wild to be on just two players over 5’7”
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..which may reflect a growing conviction that most bigs require some age and experience to be real contributors in our system at this level.
I've not heard that said by anyone on staff. I'm just connecting a few dots--for future reference when we've accumulated more dots.

If Gabby (at 6'1") is ever called upon to guard some SEC bigs, maybe we'll learn more if a freshman with her length + weight distribution is enough to maintain defensive and rebounding position. Looking at the size (in the x-axis) of many SEC bigs, leverage is probably more important than length, and that would be a skill learned more from experience (unless she played defensive tackle or offensive guard in high school).
 
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#1,015
#1,015
BruisedOrange said:
..which may reflect a growing conviction that most bigs require some age and experience to be real contributors in our system at this level.
I've not heard that said by anyone on staff. I'm just connecting a few dots--for future reference when we've accumulated more dots.

If Gabby (at 6'1") is ever called upon to guard some SEC bigs, maybe we'll learn more if a freshman with her length + weight distribution is enough to maintain defensive and rebounding position. Looking at the size (in the x-axis) of many SEC bigs, leverage is probably more important than length, and that would be a skill learned more from experience (unless she played defensive tackle or offensive guard in high school).
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Maybe, we weren’t good with taller and experienced bigs though. We have to have some taller than 6’1”. I’d take talent over age.
 
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#1,017
#1,017
DarkPhoenix said:
I Wanted 2 players in this class, and it looks like we won’t get either one

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So you think this counters the announced 9/25-26 official visit to Knoxville? Or has that been cancelled?

That said, I've never really thought she would be a real possibility for us, absent something very unusual in how she wants to play, some unique connection with Kim, or something along those lines. She's the #1 prospect, apparently with a very complete game, and an easy fit for the systems run by most of the other schools recruiting her.

Could she earn a lot of minutes and rack up numbers under Kim's system? I think so, but she'd still be a part of that system. And she would be committing to it at a time when it has not proven its capacity to win at this level (as many on here have pointed out). To me, Kim's system seems to be about "team" over "stars," and until that translates to the kind of success she had at DII, I suspect recruiting the very top-rated prospects could prove to be challenging. Would love to be proved wrong. Time will tell.
 
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#1,021
#1,021
That post was not a reference to you RetroVol. I enjoy reading your thorough perspectives from contrasting angles of discourse.

I spoke in advance to the particular per usual out of touch sentiments from a perceived message board expert (DP) who feels their opinion is more well-informed and in some regards more relevant than competent, experienced collegiate coaches as it relates to the LV WBB program.

I will say however, Tennessee LV WBB recruiting is in a healthy position RIGHT now. Very very healthy.

RetroVol said:
I certainly hope not! Just a place to entertain ourselves...
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#1,022
#1,022
3stripeslegend said:
That post was not a reference to you RetroVol. I enjoy reading your thorough perspectives from contrasting angles of discourse.

I spoke in advance to the particular per usual out of touch sentiments from a perceived message board expert (DP) who feels their opinion is more well-informed and in some regards more relevant than competent, experienced collegiate coaches as it relates to the LV WBB program.

I will say however, Tennessee LV WBB recruiting is in a healthy position RIGHT now. Very very healthy.
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Thanks, @3stripeslegend. We good. I was agreeing with your point.

And, now (discourse, you know?) I'm going to reflect a bit on your comment that we're in a healthy position for recruiting right now. Not going to say you're wrong -- not at all, but I am going to reflect on Kim's tenure at Tennessee so far.

First, she did much better assembling this team than I had feared. Let's face it: last year was R-O-U-G-H! And it's a lot easier to sell success than to sell the idea that it was a one-year aberration and things would look up. From all accounts, Kim did it through blunt honesty, which actually seems to be one of her real strong points. I'm sure Tennessee's historical prestige (and whatever money we were able to bring to bear) had an impact. But, just looking at this lineup, I also think every one of them probably thought, "I'd like to play that way. I can shine in that system, and it would be fun to win like that." And, many of them had strikes against them that kept them from being at the top of the list of other big name programs, strikes like injuries or a big step-up in competition. I'm not at all running down what Kim and her staff accomplished or the potential of these players, but that's the way it looks to me.

That said, I suspect Kim is pretty happy with this squad. I think she lost her way a little in the 2025 recruiting process. She said when she was hired that the talent she would recruit might not always look like the best talent to others. Then she went out and hired two assistant coaches whose main claim to fame seemed to be that they knew the league and the potential recruits. And one in particular really stepped into that role. Kim has admitted she changed too much, didn't trust her system last year, and I think that started with recruiting. She ended up with a highly-touted class, but she didn't have the depth of shooting, ball-handling, and hustling defense she needed. She also had two players creating problems through an inability to follow the law. All in all, a recipe for disaster, and that's what we got.

Compare that to this year. Her two assistants seem to be recognized mostly for their coaching skills, offense and defense. Not to say they didn't help with recruiting. I think they clearly did. But I suspect Kim was much more inclined to stick to her guns about what she wanted than she was the previous year. (And, yes, if I'm right about that, that was a failure on her part, and she has admitted she made overall judgment mistakes before last season.) I know there are those on this board who disagree with me, but I want to see Kim-ball, and I think we're going to see that this year. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But I hated watching last year when it just didn't seem anything like the year before.

High school recruits are a gamble. I think Kim will be cautious; she can't afford the risk. She has to improve this year, then get even better the next year. She can't afford another stumble. If she can find one or two fast, good-shooting ball handlers with squeaky-clean references for effort, coachability, and behavior, even if they're on the small side, I think she'll be happy to take it and go to the portal in '27, hopefully after a much more positive season. She might not even be that concerned if she has no signees this year. Not sure about that. It would raise chatter. But we'll see.

Anyway, I get the criticisms on this board that Kim's system can't win at this level. But, I want to see the system run with commitment and consistency, from the head coach all the way down, and I think that's what we're going to get this year. I may be disappointed in the results, but I don't think I'll have to sit back and watch some kind of neither-this-nor-that amalgam like last year!
 
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#1,023
#1,023
RetroVol said:
Thanks, @3stripeslegend. We good. I was agreeing with your point.

And, now (discourse, you know?) I'm going to reflect a bit on your comment that we're in a healthy position for recruiting right now. Not going to say you're wrong -- not at all, but I am going to reflect on Kim's tenure at Tennessee so far.

First, she did much better assembling this team than I had feared. Let's face it: last year was R-O-U-G-H! And it's a lot easier to sell success than to sell the idea that it was a one-year aberration and things would look up. From all accounts, Kim did it through blunts honesty, which actually seems to be one of her real strong points. I'm sure Tennessee's historical prestige (and whatever money we were able to bring to bear) had an impact. But, just looking at this lineup, I also think every one of them probably thought, "I'd like to play that way. I can shine in that system, and it would be fun to win like that." And, many of them had strikes against them that kept them from being at the top of the list of other big name programs, strikes like injuries or a big step-up in competition. I'm not at all running down what Kim and her staff accomplished or the potential of these players, but that's the way it looks to me.

That said, I suspect Kim is pretty happy with this squad. I think she lost her way a little in the 2025 recruiting process. She said when she was hired that the talent she would recruit might not always look like the best talent to others. Then she went out and hired two assistant coaches whose main claim to fame seemed to be that they knew the league and the potential recruits. And one in particular really stepped into that role. Kim has admitted she changed too much, didn't trust her system last year, and I think that started with recruiting. She ended up with a highly-touted class, but she didn't have the depth of shooting, ball-handling, and hustling defense she needed. She also had two players creating problems through an inability to follow the law. All in all, a recipe for disaster, and that's what we got.

Compare that to this year. Her two assistants seem to be recognized mostly for their coaching skills, offense and defense. Not to say they didn't help with recruiting. I think they clearly did. But I suspect Kim was much more inclined to stick to her guns about what she wanted than she was the previous year. (And, yes, if I'm right about that, that was a failure on her part, and she has admitted she made overall judgment mistakes before last season.) I know there are those on this board who disagree with me, but I want to see Kim-ball, and I think we're going to see that this year. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But I hated watching last year when it just didn't seem anything like the year before.

High school recruits are a gamble. I think Kim will be cautious; she can't afford the risk. She has to improve this year, then get even better the next year. She can't afford another stumble. If she can find one or two fast, good-shooting ball handlers with squeaky-clean references for effort, coachability, and behavior, even if they're on the small side, I think she'll be happy to take it and go to the portal in '27, hopefully after a much more positive season. She might not even be that concerned if she has no signees this year. Not sure about that. It would raise chatter. But we'll see.

Anyway, I get the criticisms on this board that Kim's system can't win at this level. But, I want to see the system run with commitment and consistency, from the head coach all the way down, and I think that's what we're going to get this year. I may be disappointed in the results, but I don't think I'll have to sit back and watch some kind of neither-this-nor-that amalgam like last year!
Click to expand...
Agree! Well encapsulated account of how we got here, what we've learned, and what we look to learn this coming season.

Now let's see how healthy we can get this roster between now and November!
 
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#1,025
#1,025
1. System worked Year 1.Nothing left to prove as far as the system. The players have to be disciplined and committed to executing this system or any system on the collegiate level.
2. No they didn’t have strikes against them. You have to do homework before making statements like that. This is a roster made up of players from Power 4 conferences with many being recruited by Top schools across the SEC, ACC, and Big 10. Again do the homework. Just because a player doesn’t sign with certain schools that RECRUITED them it doesn’t mean they had strikes against them. Tennessee has players that were recruited by Oklahoma, Maryland, NC State, Louisville, Texas, LSU, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Georgia among others.
Time to move pass this false perception.
3. Most of the post is simply speculation and inaccurate information of the current players. A poor evaluation of facts that I don’t know what source you are using but it’s not a credible one.
People mistake HS rankings with college success and ability. You have atleast 7 or 8 players on this team that have career statistics on a Power 4 level that about 50% of the Top 30 players per class over the previous 4/5 years will never achieve on a collegiate level.
This is a fact.

RetroVol said:
Thanks, @3stripeslegend. We good. I was agreeing with your point.

And, now (discourse, you know?) I'm going to reflect a bit on your comment that we're in a healthy position for recruiting right now. Not going to say you're wrong -- not at all, but I am going to reflect on Kim's tenure at Tennessee so far.

First, she did much better assembling this team than I had feared. Let's face it: last year was R-O-U-G-H! And it's a lot easier to sell success than to sell the idea that it was a one-year aberration and things would look up. From all accounts, Kim did it through blunts honesty, which actually seems to be one of her real strong points. I'm sure Tennessee's historical prestige (and whatever money we were able to bring to bear) had an impact. But, just looking at this lineup, I also think every one of them probably thought, "I'd like to play that way. I can shine in that system, and it would be fun to win like that." And, many of them had strikes against them that kept them from being at the top of the list of other big name programs, strikes like injuries or a big step-up in competition. I'm not at all running down what Kim and her staff accomplished or the potential of these players, but that's the way it looks to me.

That said, I suspect Kim is pretty happy with this squad. I think she lost her way a little in the 2025 recruiting process. She said when she was hired that the talent she would recruit might not always look like the best talent to others. Then she went out and hired two assistant coaches whose main claim to fame seemed to be that they knew the league and the potential recruits. And one in particular really stepped into that role. Kim has admitted she changed too much, didn't trust her system last year, and I think that started with recruiting. She ended up with a highly-touted class, but she didn't have the depth of shooting, ball-handling, and hustling defense she needed. She also had two players creating problems through an inability to follow the law. All in all, a recipe for disaster, and that's what we got.

Compare that to this year. Her two assistants seem to be recognized mostly for their coaching skills, offense and defense. Not to say they didn't help with recruiting. I think they clearly did. But I suspect Kim was much more inclined to stick to her guns about what she wanted than she was the previous year. (And, yes, if I'm right about that, that was a failure on her part, and she has admitted she made overall judgment mistakes before last season.) I know there are those on this board who disagree with me, but I want to see Kim-ball, and I think we're going to see that this year. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But I hated watching last year when it just didn't seem anything like the year before.

High school recruits are a gamble. I think Kim will be cautious; she can't afford the risk. She has to improve this year, then get even better the next year. She can't afford another stumble. If she can find one or two fast, good-shooting ball handlers with squeaky-clean references for effort, coachability, and behavior, even if they're on the small side, I think she'll be happy to take it and go to the portal in '27, hopefully after a much more positive season. She might not even be that concerned if she has no signees this year. Not sure about that. It would raise chatter. But we'll see.

Anyway, I get the criticisms on this board that Kim's system can't win at this level. But, I want to see the system run with commitment and consistency, from the head coach all the way down, and I think that's what we're going to get this year. I may be disappointed in the results, but I don't think I'll have to sit back and watch some kind of neither-this-nor-that amalgam like last year!
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