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Vol Club Confidential: Kim Caldwell

On3 imageby:Austin Price•04/14/25•

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Tennessee women’s coach Kim Caldwell had a wild first season Rocky Top. She joined Vol Club Confidential sponsored by Knoxville Smiles this week to conclude season three.

“I’m just now getting to the point where I can recap it,” Caldwell said. “It was a great year and I’m very thankful for the team I got to coach. I’m sad that it’s over. This profession is weird. You don’t get a lot of time to mourn the team you just lost. You just hop right into recruiting and the next season.”

A week or two after the season wrapped, there Caldwell was hosting players from the transfer portal.

“I think it’s a tough balance,” Caldwell said. “Some coaches start to recruit early but I tried to enjoy every moment with those seniors till they were no more and now we are back at it trying to get better and build off last season.”

As for the best moment of their season?

“I think the relationships I got to have with the players,” Caldwell said. “When you come up a level and I know for me it was a really quick journey. I was just a Division II coach and all of a sudden you are at Tennessee. You think the players may be too cool or too big time to have a relationship with the coach but it was one of my favorite teams I’ve ever coached.”

To be able to keep the steak of NCAA tournaments made intact was big for Caldwell.

“I think I’m proud of how quick we did it,” Caldwell said. “We finished the season top 15 in year one and have that be our foundation and the direction we want to go. Hopefully that’s our floor. Hopefully we can grow on that and that’s what this team’s focus was on in getting back to the top 25. They got us back in the top 15 and finished in the sweet 16. They had a lot of fun doing it. Just a good body of work and I’ll always be thankful to those seniors.”

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