Kim Caldwell and the Lady Vols are looking to bounce back in 2026-27 after struggling this past season. Tennessee finished the year with an eight-game losing streak, which included a first round exit in the NCAA Tournament.
Kim Caldwell’s second year as the head coach of the Lady Vols went off the rails over the final few weeks of the season.
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Tennessee finished the season on an eight-game losing streak, which included first-round exits in the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
Caldwell is set to return for a third season because Tennessee athletic director Danny White has full confidence that she’s the right person for the job.
White, though, was quick to point out this week during a Big Orange Caravan stop in Chattanooga that what we saw from the Lady Vols last season is not “the standard” at UT.
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“I think we’re all always growing in our jobs,” said White. “I think she’d be the first to say that nobody’s proud of the season we had. We did make the NCAA Tournament, but that’s not the standard of Lady Vols basketball. She knows that. We all know that.
“But the way she’s handled it with the pivots and the internal stuff, the decisions that she’s had to make, I think it’s been brilliant. I’m really excited about seeing the team compete next year.”
White is clearly confident in Caldwell, but he’s also making sure that everyone knows barely making the NCAA Tournament is far from the standard at Tennessee.
Quote from Kim Caldwell shows why she deserves some grace for last season
One reason why White is so confident in Caldwell is because last season was truly an outlier in her career.
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With the exception of the COVID season in 2020, Caldwell had won at least 24 games in every year of her coaching career before last season (dating back to 2016).
“I’m very appreciative that in year one we did have success,” said Caldwell Wednesday on 104.5 The Zone’s 3HL. “So then you can really look at this season of my career and say this is an outlier. You’ve got to know where you went wrong.
“I think for me, as somebody who measures success by championships, when you go to the Sweet 16, I still wasn’t satisfied. I tried to change too much, too quick. And I tried to hit a home run too quick, and got humbled real quickly in that regard.”
Caldwell made some mistakes last year, but that’s going to be part of her growth as a coach. Given her track record, it’s understandable why she’s getting a third season at Tennessee. She deserves the chance to show that last season was a fluke.
