Tennessee Lady Vols Drops in Rankings Following 2-1 Start

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers drop in the new rankings

Tennessee guard Talaysia Cooper (55) sets and hits the 3-point basket during an NCAA college basketball game against East Tennessee State on November 7, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers are one of the better teams in the nation when it comes to women's basketball, as they have been one of the top offensive teams in the world, and still are at this time. They have also shown some flashes on defense, but that has been something that has yet to be valued as highly as the offensive system.

The Tennessee Lady Vols have a 2-1 record entering this new change in ranking. They lost their first game on the road, as they were defeated by the then-ranked 9th team in the nation, and the now-ranked 10th team in the nation, NC State, who now has a 1-1 record after being defeated by the 8th-ranked USC Trojans. This was a game that the Lady Vols lost by three points after leading at multiple points in the contest.

The Lady Vols would bounce back in a major way with a near 100-point showing before they jumped back into another contest on Sunday, when they were put on upset alert for a large portion of that game. The contest being against a team that the Lady Vols were expected to defeat by a ton.

Lady Vols Drop in Rankings

Tennessee forward Janiah Barker (0) sits on basketball coach Kim Caldwell while talking with Talaysia Cooper (55) during NCAA college basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and East Tennessee State Buccaneers on November 7, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers dropped in the rankings a good bit, but after their loss, a solid win, and an underwhelming win. The Lady Vols, who were ranked as the 8th team in the nation, are now outside of the top 10 and are ranked as the 12th team in the nation. This being as they dropped behind USC, Maryland, NC State, and North Carolina. It's a long season, and looking at these rankings now may get you burned later, but at the same time, it is worth monitoring.

The Lady Vols will have the chance to move up in the rankings come next Monday, as they will only play one game this week. That game is on Thursday, as they will be taking on the Belmont Bruins. The Bruins will be another team that the Lady Vols will be expected to defeat heavily, but this will be a stylistic matchup to pay attention to because of the struggles that the Lady Vols have shown. Tennessee will then play Middle Tennessee State and Coppin State the following week.

The Lady Vols have a long way until conference play, but when they do, they will be expected to play at their highest level, which makes these games even more valuable.

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