Kim Caldwell, the newly appointed head coach of the Tennessee women’s basketball team, expressed her desire for the Lady Vols to become the hardest-playing team in the country in the upcoming season.
During a news conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, Caldwell addressed the media on Tuesday. Her hiring was announced on Sunday, coinciding with the women’s national championship game. The decision to replace coach Kellie Harper, a Tennessee alum, was made on April 1.
Tennessee reached out to several prominent coaches in their search for a new coach. Athletic director Danny White described the search process, which lasted less than a week, as “methodical.”
“We took our time with the decision,” said White. “We cast a wide net and had conversations with numerous individuals across the country, at different levels. We left no stone unturned.”
The primary criterion for the search was finding someone capable of leading the team back to the top, a requirement White was unwavering about.
Caldwell’s selection may seem surprising, considering she has only coached at the Division I level for one season. In her debut season at Marshall, she led the Thundering Herd to an impressive 26-7 record. They dominated the Sun Belt Conference with a 17-1 record, won the conference tournament, and made an appearance in the NCAA tournament’s first round. Prior to her time at Marshall, Caldwell coached at her alma mater, Glenville State, in West Virginia from 2016 to 2023. Her tenure there included an outstanding 191-24 record and a victory in the NCAA Division II championship in 2022.
In addition to her coaching experience, Caldwell also has a personal connection to Glenville State, as she played for the university from 2007 to 2011.
Caldwell now enters the highly competitive Southeastern Conference (SEC), which has produced the last three national champions: South Carolina in 2022 and 2024, and LSU in 2023. The SEC will become even more challenging with the addition of perennial NCAA tournament teams Texas and Oklahoma in the upcoming season. One of Caldwell’s immediate tasks will be to make progress in areas where her predecessor, Harper, was perceived as lacking, particularly in recruiting.
During the news conference, Caldwell jokingly mentioned that one advantage of being Tennessee’s coach is that recruits always respond when she texts them.
Athletic director Danny White expressed confidence in Caldwell’s full-court-press style of play, and Caldwell herself agreed that it would be well-suited for Tennessee.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we could do it here,” Caldwell stated. “We’re going to play an exciting brand of basketball. We want to play fast, we want to play up-tempo. We want to be the hardest-playing team in the country.”
Caldwell acknowledged the remarkable legacy of Pat Summitt, who took over the Tennessee women’s basketball program in 1974 and became one of the most successful coaches in the history of the sport. Summitt won eight NCAA titles before retiring in 2012 due to early-onset dementia. Caldwell expressed her desire to connect with former players, learn from their experiences, and carry forward the proud tradition of being a Lady Vol.
“Pat Summitt changed the game of basketball. And wouldn’t she love to see where the game is now?” Caldwell remarked. “I will never be Pat Summitt. Nobody can. But I will strive every day to be somebody that she would be proud of. [The players] are hungry to get back to the top of the SEC. We want to give Lady Vol nation something very exciting to watch. I know what this job means, and I will work every day to make sure I take care of this special program.”