Everything Kim Caldwell Said Ahead of Lady Vols Basketball Season

Kim Caldwell is one of the better coaches in the nation, and ahead of her season she was able to speak with the media following her practice. The media session was on Wednesday, which she discussed many valuable topics.

Here is everything the Tennessee Lady Vols coach said.

Caldwell on Changes and Improvements

"The length of that list is very long. It was probably after I talked to every individual staff member, our ops, our trainer, our strength and conditioning coach, we probably had three pages of things that we knew that we could alter, change, tweak. We have really dove into that. We've really become obsessed about getting better, and obviously, your second time around is much more familiar. You know your scouts, not every team you play is brand new. You're not having to do everything for the first time, but there's a lot of different things that we want to grow upon and just flat out change, where I think we could get some points back."

Caldwell on Jersey Wolfenbarger and Janiah Barker

Oct 15, 2025; Birmingham, AL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Kim Caldwell talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

"Jersey can bring a lot of offensive rebounds. She can guard the front of our press. She can fly around. She's the fastest player I've ever seen at her size. She can run on the track with our guards and be right up there with the guards. She's almost like a freak of nature in that regard. She can play outside. She can play inside. She's doing a very good job of fitting into her role. So, she has been a really nice addition for us. Janiah has been fantastic. She's a good leader for us. I think we are still figuring out how great she can be. She can shoot threes, she can get to the rim, she's a phenomenal passer, she's a lockdown defender. We're still trying to get her fully, it takes some time so fully, hey, 'This is how we do it. This is how good you can be.' I think once it clicks for her, and it's starting to click, I think the sky's the limit."

Caldwell on Tennessee's Scrimmage Against North Carolina

"We've had several competitions versus our practice guys as well, and we have to get a lot better. I think we've seen some things click, but I guess the last time I talked to you, I talked about we're going to shoot less threes, and we seem to be settling for threes. We're not rebounding anywhere close to where I want to be rebounding. We're not getting into the paint enough. We're not putting enough pressure on the rim. We're taking plays off. I mean, there's a lot again, that list is like 25 pages long. It's rapidly approaching. So, the energy has been good, the mindset has been good, still kind of growing, working our way into it, but a lot to clean up."

Caldwell on How Jaida Civil's Earning The Respect of Her Veteran Teammates

"Because she's really good. Because she's really good, and she's fearless, and she flies around. She is not afraid of anyone. She'll talk smack with our practice guys. She'll talk smack with our best players. She doesn't care. She's a great human being, and she's going to be really good."

Caldwell on Kaiya Wynn Returning From Injury

"It's a tough injury. It's a hard injury to recover from, so she's been slowly getting back into it. She's a really good leader for us. She knows her role. She plays it well. She's a good defender, she runs. She's still trying to fit into that role to get back, but she's a big player for us in regards to what she brings to the table. She knows what it takes. She knows what it's like to be a Lady Vol. She knows what that means, and she's doing a really good job of communicating that to our eight new ones."

Caldwell on Jaida Civil's Growth

"I think she's been great mentally. When she first got here, she would really, really get down on herself and have moments where she would be out of out for a while over the slightest mistake, and we don't see that out of her anymore. That's great because a lot of the time that takes a whole season to fix, and she fixed it over the summer, and then she's really developed her three-point shot. So she's shooting that with confidence as well."

Caldwell on Starting Against Top-10 NC State

"Our practices have been intense. Our practices have been competitive, trying to keep it like that. Shout out to our practice squad. That was one thing that was on our list of things we needed to improve. Our male practice team has been phenomenal. They show up every day. They play our players to their weaknesses. They make us better. So, we really spend a lot of time going up and down versus them and being competitive with them, so that when the ball goes up, we're ready."

Caldwell on Freshmen Importance

"They are our foundation. We're building around them. It is not a whole lot more that needs to be said. They're phenomenal, they compete, they push our upperclassmen to be better. Our upperclassmen are playing in fear that a freshman is going to take their spot, and our freshmen are going to play. They're helping us right away. They're changing our culture right away, and we're building around them."

Caldwell on Kaniya Boyd

"We want to get more out of her. I'll say that. I don't think we saw anywhere towards her full potential last year, and I want more than anything for this to be a better year for her."

Caldwell on Zee Spearman Playing 3x3 Basketball and If Tennessee Played a Factor

"She needs to work on her consistency, but absolutely, I think she played great basketball last year, and she really made a name for herself, and I think all of that led to more confidence, and I think the 3-on-3 made her a more confident player, and I'm really hoping that that momentum can carry into her final season."

Caldwell on Exhibition vs. Columbus State

"We better be elite defensively in that game. We better take great shots, and then the pace is really important. And you're always looking at who's going to provide what, who knows their role, and what is our energy and our effort looking like, which it should be great, because we finally get to play in front of people."

Caldwell on Janiah Barker's Name in Mock Drafts

"I think her size and athleticism with her skill set is something I have never seen before. She has the athleticism almost of Jaida Civil, but at her size, and when she really decides to put her head down and go to the rim, it's scary."

Caldwell on Building Through Athleticism

"Without a doubt, we're more athletic. It's obviously the most athletic team I've ever had, and I like athletes. I like players that can score, I like players that can go. I like players that can defend. I like players with a high motor that can get up and down. We have a team full of them, and that's why I'm a little bit surprised that when we have gone against other people that we haven't got to the rim as much, because that's really what they were brought here to do, and we've been shooting the three. So, just working on growing that, and I think that on paper, we look really good. We just have to be consistent, stay out of our own way, and then hopefully we can improve upon last year."

Caldwell on Good Shots Through Analytics

"I think all of that goes into analytics and showing them on paper what shots they're taking, what shots they should be taking, where they're the most efficient on the floor. I do think it comes with, we practice so many threes, so they just shoot so many threes. And then it also has to do with everyone still is trying to establish their role, settle in their role, and earn their playing time at the same time. That's kind of a hard balance this time of year. Hey, you're trying to get on the floor and you're trying to earn more shots, but I have to know that you're playing in your role. That's where we're at at this point in the season."

Caldwell on Facing Challenges

"Challenge every day, it's coaching. But it's been great because they're not all new faces. It's been really nice to have six returners that can really help our newcomers and teach, and talk about the flow of the game and how it's a game of runs and what to expect and what drills we're doing. And then I have some people that can echo things on the floor, which makes practices flow a lot quicker and makes the learning curve not as steep."