ESPN Analyst Calls Out Kim Caldwell Amid Tennessee Losing Streak
The Tennessee Volunteers women's basketball team lost 100-93 to the Oklahoma Sooners on February 22. This marks the team's fourth straight loss, and they are now 2-5 in their last seven SEC Conference games.
Head coach Kim Caldwell has been calling her team out in various ways, but it clearly isn't impacing their performance in the way she has been hoping.
RELATED: Tennessee Coach Calls Out Team's 'Quit' After Historic Loss to South Carolina
ESPN Analyst Andraya Carter Takes Aim At Kim Caldwell’s Tennessee Team
ESPN analyst Andraya Carter (who played at Tennessee from 2012 to 2016) did not mincing words when criticizing Caldwell and the Lady Volunteers during an "ESPN College Gameday" segment on Sunday.
"I know a lot of things are going on. And I agree with Coach Staley, you should never say your team has a lot of quit," Carter said, per an X post from College Gameday. "So that is the first mistake. Kim Caldwell is gonna figure out what to say, and when to say it, in the public eye. But she has a lot of things to figure out.
"I know she said this team has a lot of quit. To me, when I watch them, what they have is no belief. And when you're playing on a team, this is any team, you've got to believe in yourself, you've got to believe in the system, and you've got to believe in the staff. Because when you're struggling with yourself, maybe you can lean on the system and your teammates, and when your team is struggling, you can turn to your staff," Carter continued.
RELATED: Ole Miss Coach Addresses Kim Caldwell's Handshake Slight After Tennessee Loss
"It doesn't look like Tennessee, the players, they know who to turn to. Some of them might believe in themselves, but they believe in themselves on an island; it doesn't translate to winning. It doesn't inspire their teammates at all. There's very little belief in this Tennessee locker room when I watch them.... They don't seem like they're having fun; they don't seem like they enjoy each other."
Carter later added, "This Tennessee team, it doesn't look like they believe in the system. I'm interested to see what's going to budge. Is the team going to budge, or is the system going to budge? Because if you're a coach, you are required to figure out a system that fits your players. There's no amount of NIL money that can buy buy-in. You can't purchase buy-in, you have to create it as a collective with the team and within the staff, and it's not happening right now."
"If you're a coach, you are required to figure out a system that fits your players. There's no amount of NIL money that can buy buy-in."@Andraya_Carter on the Lady Vols season under Kim Caldwell 👀 pic.twitter.com/c4UFfMBDpZ
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) February 22, 2026
Props to Carter for not pulling any punches regarding her alma mater.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
Follow GrvntYoung