Auburn Leading Scorer Coulibaly Inks With Lady Vols

Harissoum Coulibaly (pronounced harr-iss-SOOM cool-uh-BALL-ee), Auburn's leading scorer as a freshman in 2025-26, became the 12th player out of the portal to sign her paperwork, Lady Vol head coach Kim Caldwell confirmed on Thursday.

A 5-foot-10 guard from Paris, France, Coulibaly was a top-100 high school player and four-star prospect while playing at S3 Academy in Virginia. She was generally regarded as one of the top rookies in the Southeastern Conference a year ago with the Tigers and has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Coulibaly joins previously-announced transfer portal signees in 5-6 guard Shaelyn Steele (Penn State), 5-7 guards Jada Eads (Seton Hall) and Kennedy Fauntleroy (East Carolina), 5-9 guards Avery Mills (Liberty), Naomi White (Northern Arizona) and Rylie Theuerkauf (Georgia), 6-0 guard Kaylene Smikle (Maryland), 6-1 forward Aaliyah Moore (Texas), 6-2 forwards Zhen Craft (Georgia) and Fatmata "Fats" Janneh (Texas A&M), and 6-3 forward Harper Peterson (Stanford) in Tennessee's 2026 transfer portal class.

UT also has two incoming freshmen, including 6-1 guard/forward Gabby Minus (Dacula, Ga./Hebron Christian Academy), the No. 64-ranked player in the 2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100 class, and 5-10 guard Irene Oboavwoduo (Manchester, England/Trinity Church of England H.S.), who has a bevy of international experience with several Great Britain national teams.

Coulibaly appeared in 30 games in 2025-26, starting 17 and averaging a team-leading 10.4 points per contest. She also contributed 3.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.6 assists per outing, ranking second for Auburn in assists and steals, and fourth in rebounding.

The recipient of SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Dec. 23, 2025, Coulibaly scored in double figures 19 times, including 12 occasions in 16 SEC games. She shot 45.0 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc (2-4).

The rookie made her Auburn debut with 19 points, five rebounds and five steals in 32 minutes at Charlotte on Nov. 3. Four games later, she reached double figures for the third time in her first five games, making eight of 11 shots from the field to also card 19 vs. Georgia State on Nov. 17.

At S3 Academy, Coulibaly averaged 18.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals while shooting 57 percent from the field as a senior in 2024-25. She was ranked No. 95 in the SportsCenter NEXT 100 in 2025.

In the 2026 portal recruiting rankings, Smikle is ranked No. 8 by The Athletic, No. 13 by HoopsHQ and No. 14 by espnW, while Janneh is rated No. 16 by HoopsHQ.

2026-27 Lady Vol Roster Additions (Signees)

Incoming Transfers
Harissoum Coulibaly (5-10, SO, G, Paris, France/S3 Academy (Va.)/Auburn)
Zhen Craft (6-2, SO, F, Waldorf, Md./Bishop McNamara H.S./Georgia)
Jada Eads (5-7, G, JR, Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep H.S./Seton Hall)
Kennedy Fauntleroy (5-7, G, R-SR, Upper Marlboro, Md./New Hope Academy/Georgetown/Okla. St./Ariz. St./ECU)
Fatmata "Fats" Janneh (6-2, SR, F, London, England/Barking Abbey Sixth Form/Texas A&M)
Avery Mills (5-9, JR, G, Lynchburg, Va./Lynchburg H.S./Liberty)
Aaliyah Moore (6-1, F, R-SR, Moore, Okla./Moore H.S./Texas)
Harper Peterson (6-3, R-SO, F, Rocklin, Calif./Whitney H.S./Stanford)
Kaylene Smikle (6-0, G, R-SR, Bay Shore, N.Y. /Westtown H.S./Rutgers/Maryland)
Shaelyn Steele (5-6, G, JR, Ashland, Ky./Russell H.S./Penn State)
Rylie Theuerkauf (5-9, SR, G, Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly H.S./Wake Forest/Georgia)
Naomi White (5-9, R-SO, G, Omaha, Neb./Bellevue West H.S./Grand Canyon/Northern Arizona)

Incoming Freshmen
Gabby Minus (6-1, FR, G/F, Dacula, Ga./Hebron Christian Academy)
Irene Oboavwoduo (5-10, FR, G, Manchester, England/Trinity Church of England H.S.)

University of Tennessee Athletics

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