WBB Preview: #8/9 Lady Vols vs. #24 Columbus State

October 28, 2025 | Women's Basketball

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No. 8/9 Tennessee opens the second season of the Kim Caldwell era by welcoming Columbus State (Ga.), ranked 24th in the WBCA NCAA Division II Preseason Poll, on Wednesday for an exhibition game at 6:30 p.m. ET at Food City Center.

The contest will be shown on SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations with audio streaming on UTSports.com.

The Lady Vols finished 24-10 overall and 8-8 in SEC play (t8th) a year ago, advancing to their 37th NCAA Sweet 16 but the first with Caldwell at the helm. CSU, meanwhile, finished 21-9 overall and 14-4 in the Peach Belt Conference (2nd), advancing to NCAA Division II Southeast Regional round of 32.

UT is 53-5 all-time in preseason exhibition games, with the only losses coming to the Soviet National Team (1979), Athletes in Action (1992) and the USA National Team (1995, 2007, 2023). In the post-Pat Summitt era, UT is 13-1 in preseason exhibition games, defeating Carson-Newman 11 times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024) and both Georgia College (2021) and Coker (2012) on one occasion each. The only loss was to the USA Women's National Team in 2023.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Columbus State
Date: Wednesday, October 29
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Food City Center
Watch: SECN+
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio , Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

COLUMBUS STATE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

Whitehorn Named To Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List Cooper On Nancy Lieberman Award Preseason Watch List Lady Vols Open Year At #9 In Coaches Poll Lady Vols Host Media Day One Week Before Exhibition Coaches Pick Lady Vols Fifth, Cooper All-SEC First Team In Preseason Voting

BROADCAST DETAILS

Roger Hoover (play-by-play) and LVFL Niya Butts (analyst) will describe the action for SECN+.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play and Jay Lifford serving as studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the WBB Preview page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.

IMPORTANT GAME DAY PARKING ALERT

Due to ongoing campus construction and route disruptions, the Ag Campus shuttles will not be operational for the Columbus State exhibition game on Wednesday.
If you are accustomed to riding and/or were planning to ride the shuttle, you'll be permitted to park in the G-10 garage for free, with entry from Neyland Drive.
ADA parking also will be available inside the G-10 garage, and drop-offs will be permitted via Phillip Fulmer Way.
All shuttle operations from the Ag Campus will resume beginning with the regular season opener vs. ETSU on Nov. 7 and will be in place for the remainder of the regular season.

CALDWELL HEADS INTO YEAR TWO

Kim Caldwell guided the Lady Vols to a 24-10 record, NCAA Sweet 16 finish and final AP and Coaches Poll rankings of 15th and 16th, respectively, in her first season at the Power 4 level in 2024-25 and did so while expecting her first child. Among the team's triumphs, victories over eventual NCAA champ UConn as well as Ohio State, Iowa and Florida State.
Her first Lady Vol unit set various NCAA, SEC and UT records for three-pointers made and attempted, and it put up 86.6 points per game in the process to post the No. 4 scoring average in program history while attracting 10,647 fans per contest to watch the exciting style of play.
Caldwell welcomes back three starters and two reserves from a year ago who combine for returning percentages of 71 for steals, 59 for field goals, 58 for blocks, 55 for points, 51 for rebounds, 47 for assists and 29 for threes. Senior Kaiya Wynn also is back after missing last season with an injury.
Added to that core, the Lady Vol staff signed a consensus top-two high school class and a top-rated transfer class as well.
As a result, Caldwell's second Tennessee squad is ranked No. 7 by ESPN, No. 8 by AP and No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports/WBCA Coaches poll in the preseason.

TALENTED TRIO TOPS RETURNING CORE

UT returns three of its top-four scorers and rebounders in redshirt junior Talaysia Cooper and seniors Zee Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn.
Leading the way is Cooper, a 6-foot All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Defensive Team guard. Cooper put up 16.6 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 3.2 apg. and 3.1 spg. while hitting 36 three-pointers in her first season at UT after transferring from South Carolina.
Zee Spearman, a 6-4 forward, returns after producing 11.7 ppg. and 6.0 rpg. while sinking 24 treys in her impressive Lady Vol debut in 2024-25 after arriving from Miami.
Also back is Ruby Whitehorn, a 6-0 guard who added 11.6 ppg. and 4.0 rpg. along with 25 threes during her impactful first year at Tennessee after transferring from Clemson.

THREE KEY RESERVES ARE BACK, TOO

Kaniya Boyd, a 5-9 redshirt sophomore (4.0 ppg., 1.3 spg., 1.3 apg.) and 6-2 junior forward Alyssa Latham (3.9 ppg., 3.7 rpg.) are back after playing key roles off the bench last season.
Boyd saw action in 33 games and started four as a redshirt freshman, while Latham appeared in 34 contests and earned five starts as a sophomore in her first season on Rocky Top.
Also back is 6-0 redshirt senior guard Kaiya Wynn (4.4 ppg., 2.6 rpg.), who was sidelined in 2024-25 due to an Achilles injury (right) suffered in preseason practice.
Wynn has played in 94 games as a Lady Vol and has a history as a good defender and ball handler and someone who can get to the rim.

TOP-RANKED PORTAL CLASS ARRIVES

Caldwell added three highly-regarded veteran players via the portal, earning the No. 1 spot by ESPN in its early 2025 transfer portal rankings.
Janiah Barker, a 6-4 senior forward and the 2025 Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, made the move to Knoxville after averaging 7.4 ppg. and 6.0 rpg. last season while helping UCLA to the NCAA Final Four. She was rated No. 8 by ESPN in its 2025 transfer impact rankings.
Nya Robertson, a 5-7 senior guard, arrived from SMU after landing All-ACC Second Team kudos for an 18.5 ppg. average, 111 free throws and 62 treys in 2024-25.
Jersey Wolfenbarger, a 6-5 senior forward, carded 4.6 ppg. and 3.4 rpg. while shooting 63 percent from the field last season at LSU.
World Exposure Report listed Barker at No. 4, Robertson and No. 10 and Wolfenbarger at No. 46 in its transfer portal rankings

ELITE ROOKIE CLASS ON DECK

The Lady Vols welcomed a five-player high school class rated No. 1 by 247Sports and No. 2 by ESPN, including No. 9 Mia Pauldo (5-6 guard), No. 17 Deniya Prawl (6-2 guard), No. 20 Jaida Civil (6-0 guard), No. 45 Lauren Hurst (6-3 guard/forward) and No. 57 Mya Pauldo (5-6 guard).
The group represents Tennessee's first signing class since 2017 with two or more top-15 prospects and the first with three rated among the top 35 since the Lady Vols inked three top-12 high school standouts en route to the nation's No. 1 overall group in 2017. Additionally, this marks UT's first group with four top-50 rated signees since landing four in 2018.
Also, this is the first time the Lady Vols have been ranked top 10 in recruiting by any organization since 2019 (No. 9/ESPN), in the top five since 2018 (No. 4/ESPN) and in the top two since 2017 (No. 1/ESPN).

KEY LOSSES FROM A YEAR AGO

UT lost two starters from 2024-25, including 5-10 guard Jewel Spear (12.5 ppg., 77 3FG) and 5-7 guard Samara Spencer (10.6 ppg., 4.6 apg., 66 3FG).
It also graduated three other veteran contributors in 6-1 guard/forward Tess Darby (6.4 ppg., 58 3FGs), 6-2 forward Sara Puckett (4.6 ppg., 3.1 rpg.) and 6-5 forward Jillian Hollingshead (3.4 ppg., 3.0 rpg.).
Darby (228) and Spear (146) finished their careers ranked No. 5 and No. 10 for career three-pointers made at UT, while Spear's total in 2024-25 tied for fifth-most in a season by a Lady Vol, and Darby ended up 10th.

UT/CSU SERIES NOTES

This is the first-ever meeting between Tennessee and Columbus State.

A LOOK AT COLUMBUS STATE

The Lady Cougars call Columbus, Ga., a city located on the state's western border with Alabama, home.
Columbus State is a member of the Peach Belt Conference, and it finished 14-4 in league play a year ago to claim a second-place finish.
CSU, ranked No. 24 in this year's preseason poll, made the NCAA Division II round of 32 last season before falling to Peach Belt champion North Georgia, 64-56.
Last year's second-leading scorer, 5-foot-11 guard Letiya Reeves, returns after averaging 15.2 ppg.
Columbus State graduate assistant Hya Haywood has a connection to UT's staff.
Haywood played for Kim Caldwell at Glenville State in 2022-23, helping the Pioneers to a 33-3 record and NCAA Division II Final Four.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

Matt Houser is in his seventh season as the head coach at Columbus State.
He has produced a 94-59 record at the school and taken the Lady Cougars to the NCAA Tournament twice (2022, 2025).
Last season's 21-9 overall record and 14-4 PBC mark were the best under his leadership.

THE LADY COUGARS' LAST GAME

CSU played an exhibition game vs. Auburn-Montgomery on Saturday, but statistics aren't available.

NEXT UP: A TOP-10 SEASON-OPENING CLASH

No. 8/9 Tennessee will open the 2025-26 regular season next Tuesday with a top-10 match-up at the Ro Greensboro Invitational, facing No. 9/8 NC State at 4 p.m. ET.
The neutral site contest will be played at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., about an hour and a half west of the Wolfpack's campus in Raleigh, and televised on ESPN2.
UT holds a 12-4 series advantage over NCSU, but the Pack claimed a 79-72 homecourt victory the last time these programs met during the 2024 NCAA Second Round.
Last season, NC State posted a 28-7 overall record, claimed a share of the ACC title at 16-2 and fell in the NCAA Sweet 16 in Spokane, Wash., to LSU, 80-73.