Former Lady Vols star Talaysia Cooper makes a decision on where she’s transferring
The Lady Vols’ program was dealt plenty of blows this week, but perhaps the biggest of them was the loss of Cooper to the transfer portal. Now, her destination has been revealed.
The Tennessee Lady Vols’ roster exodus was a tough look after a rough 2025-26 season, with every player eligible to return leaving, as well as five-star guard Oliviyah Edwards asking out of her letter of intent.
The toughest of blows apart from Edwards was the departure of the Lady Vols’ top scorer in guard Talaysia Cooper. Cooper announced she was entering the transfer portal despite a strong season in Knoxville statistically.
As it would be, the Lady Vols very well could face their former star next season. Cooper announced she’s going to remain in the SEC, choosing to sign with Ole Miss.
Former Lady Vols star Talaysia Cooper is transferring to Ole Miss
Cooper was a do it all player last year for Kim Caldwell. She led the team in points with 16.0 points per game, was tops in assists (3.6) and steals (2.7), and was third in rebounds (4.7).
Ironically enough, she had a season high 30 points on the floor where she’s going to be playing next season. She posted a career high in points back on Feb. 17 in Oxford, where the Lady Vols fell to Ole Miss 94-81.
Now, another SEC program will be even tougher to get past as the Lady Vols go, legitimately, from the ground up to try to get back to both the top of the SEC and the nation in 2026-27 and beyond.
Ole Miss went 24-12 last year and earned a 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, making it to the second round before losing to 4 seed Minnesota 65-63.
