The collegiate sports landscape has shifted dramatically from where it was as recently as a decade ago, due to the removal of certain restrictions around the transfer portal and the ability of student-athletes to receive compensation for their likeness.
These changes have helped create a system where the two most resource-heavy conferences in college sports, the Big Ten and the NCAA, have the easiest access to the most talented rosters.
However, not all programs in those two conferences are thriving.
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball program currently has no actively rostered players, following former 5-star recruit Jaida Civil’s decision to enter the transfer portal, Fox Sports Knoxville reported on Monday.
“The #LadyVols have lost 13 players since the end of the 2025-26 season due to eligibility or entering the transfer portal. High school signee Gabby Minus is the only player still tied to the Lady Vols,” Fox Sports Knoxville posted on X.
Lady Vols guard and former five-star recruit Jaida Civil has entered the transfer portal, leaving coach Kim Caldwell with ZERO players on the roster.
Civil, one of the top players in the 2025 recruiting class, will enter the portal after just one season on Rocky Top.
Civil, a… pic.twitter.com/kJcVfYb3g3
— FOX Sports Knoxville (@FOXSportsKnox) April 6, 2026
Support from the AD
As rocky as this season has been for the Lady Vols, who finished the season with a 16-14 record, head coach Kim Caldwell still has the support of athletic director Danny White.
“I think she’s doing a great job,” White said of Caldewell on WNML Sportstalk. “I’m as confident in her as I was the day I hired her. More confident, [after] just getting a chance to work closely with her and see how talented she is as a basketball mind and as a leader…
“I think it takes time to get it right and to get to where we want to be. But Kim’s doing a great job. I think the recruiting has elevated significantly, and I’m really excited to see these young players continue to grow and next year’s additions as well.”
From players leaving the program in the middle of the campaign to calling out her own team’s effort, if Caldwell doesn’t get the ship righted next season, White’s support may start to wane.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.