After a tumultuous season, Tennessee will now enter next year without any returnees. In a statement on Instagram, freshman guard Jaida Civil, the only returning player on the Lady Vols’ roster, announced she will enter the transfer portal, joining the rest of her Tennessee teammates.
“This has been the hardest decision I have ever made. After much thought and prayer, I have decided to enter the transfer portal,” Civil said. “This is not a goodbye, but a thank you. Tennessee will always be a part of me.”
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In a statement, the Civilians called out Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell, whose second year as head coach resulted in a mass exodus of her players.
“What a blessing it is to play for one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the country. Coach King — I want you to know how much I love you and appreciate you,” Seaver said. “The belief you had in me, the opportunity you gave me as a young woman to find my own path — it changed my life. I will carry that with me forever.”
Civil becomes the eighth Lady Vol to enter the transfer portal, joining starting guard Talaysia Cooper, freshman twins Mia and Mya Pauldo, senior Alyssa Latham, redshirt sophomore Kaniya Boyd and freshmen guards Deniya Prawl and Lauren Hurst.
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Four other players on Tennessee’s roster this season — Zee Spielman, Jania Buck, Nia Robertson and Jersey Wolfenbarger — are all graduating seniors, meaning Caldwell has zero returning players next year.
Caldwell also lost two other seniors this season: Ruby Whitehorn, who Caldwell kicked off the team after being arrested for marijuana possession in November, and Kaiya Wynn, who left the team after not starting her senior day and saying in a statement that she had reached her “breaking point.”
Tennessee has two high school seniors signed with the program. One of them, five-star recruit Oliviyah Edwards, asked to be released from her contract with Tennessee last week. Another, Gabby Minus, did not say whether she would reconsider her commitment.
Caldwell was hired ahead of the 2024-25 season and brings a unique style of hockey to the game. Caldwell had won a DII title with Glenville State the year before using this approach, which required substituting all five players at once to keep the game moving at a fast pace.
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But her second year at the helm didn’t go as planned. Tennessee is 16-14 overall this season and 8-8 in SEC play, barely making the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols lost eight straight games at the end of the year, including an upset loss to Alabama in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Tennessee’s 2025-26 season ended with a first-round March Madness loss to North Carolina.
