Kim Caldwell has only been the Lady Volsbasketball coach since April, but she has already signed the highest-ranked recruiting class at Tennessee in seven years.
Mia Pauldo, Mya Pauldo, Deniya Prawl, Jaida Civil and Lauren Hurst all signed with the Lady Vols during the fall signing period. They make up the first class to have at least two top-15 players since 2017.
“From the time that these five young ladies came on their visits, it just felt right,” Caldwell said in a school release. “It felt like they were supposed to play here.”
They are also only the second class since Pat Summitt to have three players ranked in the top 35. Mia Pauldo is ranked No. 11, Prawl is ranked No. 14, Civil is ranked No. 32, Hurst is ranked No. 42 and Mya Pauldo is ranked No. 56 in ESPN’s 2025 class rankings.
The class is ranked No. 2 in the nation by ESPN, which is Tennessee’s highest-ranked class since 2017 when Holly Warlick signed the No. 1 class. This is also UT’s first class with four top-50 signees since 2018, and its first class ranked in the top 10 by any organization since 2019.
“I’m really proud of the staff’s hard work,” Caldwell said. “I think that we all came together and learned a lot in a short period of time. We had really great visits that were genuine and authentic, and we were just ourselves … We had some really good people in (on visits), and the class we signed is terrific.
“I can’t wait to get to work with them and see what they do together over their four years here. It’s going to be special.”
