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Pair of Lady Vols Land on Preseason Watch List

Rae Burrell and Jordan Horston started the trend of Lady Vols being tabbed with preseason honors, and Alexus Dye and Tamari Key are continuing it
Jack Foster|
Pair of Lady Vols Land on Preseason Watch List
Pair of Lady Vols Land on Preseason Watch List

Alexus Dye

One of the most notable changes to this year's Lady Vols roster is Alexus Dye. Dye is a transfer from Troy, the Sun Belt player of the year for the 2020-2021 season. With former Tennessee forward Rennia Davis leaving for the WNBA, Dye's addition will be a crucial piece in attempting to fill that void. 

The reigning Sun Belt player of the year has garnered not only attraction from her coach and teammates during the preseason, which can be seen in Kellie Harper's media availability above, but from the women's college basketball world as well. 

On Thursday, Dye was officially named to the Katrina McClain award preseason watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's College Basketball Association announced. 

The 6'0" Alabama native joins 19 others on the watch list decided by a national committee for the top power forwards in women's Division I college hoops. The award is in its fifth year and is named after the two-time All-American and 1987 National Player of the Year from the University of Georgia, Katrina McClain.

Dye is the NCAA leader in double-doubles with 23 and rebounds with 352, seventh in rebounds per game with 12.6 and 16th in field goals made with 204. Last season at Troy, she tallied ten or more 26 times, scoring 15 in 17 of them. Against Power 5 opponents/SEC opponents, Dye averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds an outing.

The Troy transfer will look to make great production out of the minutes she gets on Kellie Harper's squad, which should be plenty in her first year on Rocky Top, and make the cut when the list shortens from 20 to 10 players in late January, then from 10 to five in February. An announcement date on the winner remains unknown.

The past and only four winners for the award are below:

NaLyssa Smith; Baylor (2021)

Ruthy Hebard; Oregon (2020)

Napheesa Collier; Connecticut (2019)

Ruthy Hebard; Oregon (2018)

Voting for this award will go live on Friday, October 29. Follow @hoophall and the hashtag ##McClainAward on Instagram and Twitter to vote. Voting is presented by Dell Technologies.

Tamari Key

Like Dye, junior Lady Vols center Tamari Key received preseason recognition, as the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's College Basketball Association named the North Carolina native to the Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List on Friday along with 19 other women. (See tweet below)

The award is named after Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, who was inducted in 2015. Leslie was also a three-time All-American and 1994 National Player of the Year. 

The past four and only winners of the award are below:

Aliyah Boston; South Carolina (2021 and 2020)

Megan Gustafson; Iowa (2019)

A'ja Wilson; South Carolina (2018)

Like the Katrina McClain award, the Lisa Leslie Award is entering its fifth year. In addition, voting for the Leslie Award is identical to the McClain award, but the hashtag #LeslieAward is the one to follow. 

Key returns as one of the main centerpieces of the Lady Vols roster in her third year on Rocky Top, being one of the only players to come to UT when Kellie Harper did. The award is not Key's first preseason honors, as she was named to the Coaches All-SEC  Preseason Second Team roster. 

Key and Dye join teammates Rae Burrell and Jordan Horston as players to be named to preseason watch lists for their respective positions as center, power forward, small forward and shooting guard. More on Key being named to the Second Team Coaches All-SEC roster and Burrell and Horston's recognition can be found here. 

The Lady Vols will begin with an exhibition against Georgia College on Wednesday, November 3 in Thompson-Boling Arena at 6:30 p.m. ET. before taking on Southern Illinois as the regular-season opener on Wednesday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.