The Tennessee program was once on a trajectory upward not long ago with head coach Kim Caldwell in charge.

On February 6, 2025, the Lady Vols finally defeated Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies again, winning 80-76. The Lady Vols reached the Sweet 16 and finished 15 in the AP Poll in what was certainly a respectable first season for Caldwell after taking over for Kellie Harper.

But year two has taken a serious turn for the worse as the Lady Vols limp along towards the finish of one of the more forgettable seasons in recent program history. The Lady Vols lost 76-64 to Alabama in their opening game of the SEC Tournament on Thursday night. The loss dropped Tennessee to 16-13 overall. The team was 8-8 in SEC play, and with the tournament loss, they’ve lost more SEC games than they won on the year.

Beyond the scoreboard, standings, and box scores, the team appears to be falling apart internally, which has become public fodder over the last several weeks.

Caldwell, after a blowout loss to South Carolina, said the team “has a lot of quit in them”. Former Lady Vols player and current ESPN studio analyst Andraya Carter said the team has “no belief” and that it looks to her like the team doesn’t know where to turn or who to turn to.

Now, the Lady Vols’ pre-tournament season is done, and it ended with another whimper and some ensuing eyebrow-raising comments. After the loss on Thursday night, Caldwell and guard Nya Robertson addressed the media, and Robertson had some surprisingly blunt comments about the team while sitting next to her head coach.

Tennessee guard Nya Robertson says Lady Vols ‘laid down’ in SEC Tournament loss to Alabama

“Just feel like people weren’t ready,” Robertson said when asked about the momentum continually slipping away. “I mean, when we’re not ready it shows, so we’ve just got to come out and be ready. We’ve got to be the first one to punch, and when we get punched second, then we’re going to have to dig out [of] the hole. So we’ve just got to get out [of] the hole, punch first, and get at it.”

When asked to clarify what she meant about them not being ready, whether during the game or the week of preparation, Robertson continued with an even more notable comment.

“I wouldn’t say we weren’t ready. I feel like we just laid down a little too much.”

There’s no two ways around that. Those are tough words to take in if you’re a Tennessee fan, and they’re certainly words you don’t often hear a player say. But with the way the team has been playing for the second half of the season, it’s hard to argue against.

Much speculation has been raised in the last few weeks among fans regarding Caldwell and the program. However, despite some recent talks with Caldwell, Tennessee athletic director Danny White appears to be very much still in her corner, given his recent public vote of confidence that he made amid the team’s struggle.

With Selection Sunday approaching on March 15, we’ll find out soon enough what’s next for Tennessee. The Lady Vols appear likely to make the tournament, with ESPN’s bracketology currently slotting them as an eight seed.

But unless Caldwell and the roster find a way to get on common footing very quickly, this will be a very short final act to a forgettable show that the team has put forth this season.

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