Ex-Lady Vols player joins former Tennessee teammate at the same SEC program
The Lady Vols lost two players to the same SEC program in the transfer portal.
The Tennessee Lady Vols’ roster exodus over the last couple of weeks is done, and Kim Caldwell has been working diligently in bringing in new talent to carry out her game plan in 2026-27 and beyond.
However, one notable player ended up staying in the SEC, as top scorer Talaysia Cooper previously decided to head to Ole Miss to continue her career.
As it turns out, she won’t be the only ex-Lady Vol heading down to Oxford. According to On3 Sports women’s basketball insider Talia Goodman, guard Jaida Civil will be reuniting with Cooper as a teammate once again.
Former Lady Vols guard Jaida Civil transferring to Ole Miss, joining ex-Tennessee teammate Talaysia Cooper
Civil entered the portal after a productive freshman season, which came mostly off the bench. In 30 games with 10 starts, Civil totaled 6.4 points per game, 4 rebounds per game, and 1.5 assists per game.
Civil becomes the seventh of eight former Lady Vol players who entered the transfer portal to decide on her new basketball home. In addition to Civil and Cooper, the Pauldo twins — Mia and Mya — are heading to Rutgers. Lauren Hurst and Alyssa Latham are both off to Virginia Tech. Deniya Prawl is transferring to Louisville.
Caldwell has, to her credit, started to build her roster back up. She added sharpshooter Rylie Theuerkauf from Georgia (42.4% from three last year), along with her Bulldogs teammate Zhen Craft. The nation’s top freshman scorer — Naomi White from Northern Arizona University, who totaled 20.8 points per game last year — is also bound for Knoxville.