Big Ten Honoree Janiah Barker Signs With Lady Vols
April 22, 2025 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women's basketball head coach Kim Caldwell announced that she has received an Institutional Financial Aid Agreement (IFAA) from transfer Janiah Barker, the 2025 Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year at UCLA and the No. 3 ranked prospect by espnW in the 2022 high school class.
She joins All-ACC performer Nya Robertson in UT's spring portal signing group. Barker becomes the fourth top-30-ranked player from the 2022 class on UT's roster, adding to a unit that already included No. 15 Ruby Whitehorn, No. 18 Talaysia Cooper and No. 30 Zee Spearman.Â
A 6-foot-4 rising senior forward, Barker appeared in 36 games for UCLA during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest over 17.4 minutes per outing while helping a deep Bruins squad reach its first NCAA Final Four. Barker scored in double figures in 11 games and pulled down 10 or more rebounds on seven occasions, carding six double-doubles in her lone season in Westwood while coming off the bench in 33 of 36 contests.
Two of her signature performances came when she supplied 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting along with 10 rebounds vs. Long Beach State and 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 12 boards vs. Michigan State. She also had a 17-point, 12-rebound performance vs. Arkansas and an 18-point, 11-board effort vs. Pepperdine.
"Janiah is special," Caldwell said. "She is a guard in a post's body, and I am excited to watch her game grow during her final college season.Â
"Her best basketball is ahead of her, and I am thankful that I have an opportunity to coach her. She will have an immediate impact, and the sky is the limit for her."
Prior to heading west, the Marietta, Georgia, native started 34 of 49 games over two seasons at Texas A&M, where she arrived as the highest ranked recruit in school history. She averaged 12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 assists while shooting at percentages of 47 percent from the field and 36.2 from the three-point arc. She averaged 25.1 minutes per game and hit 34 treys during her time in College Station.
Barker was in the starting five for 27 of 30 games at Texas A&M in 2023-24, averaging 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals as a sophomore. She fired away at percentages of 47.9 from the field and 34.3 from beyond the arc and drained a career-best 23 treys. She was named to the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award Watchlist that season, finishing with 21 games of double-figure scoring, eight contests with 10+ rebounds and eight double-doubles.Â
In 2022-23, she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and garnered SEC Freshman of the Week distinction twice and USBWA National Freshman of the Week honors on one occasion. Barker played in 19 contests, starting seven and averaging 12.7 points per game as the lone freshman in the league to pace her team in scoring. She was second best for the Aggies in rebounds per game at 5.9, shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point range. She compiled 11 games of scoring in double figures and had two with 10+ rebounds and a pair of double-doubles. Her 24-point outing vs. Georgia on 10-of-11 shooting remains a career best.
Barker was a WBCA, McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-American in high school, helping lead Montverde Academy (Tampa, Fla.) to its first-ever GEICO High School National Championship in 2022. She averaged 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds during her senior campaign, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep.Â
On the international stage, she won gold medals with USA Basketball at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Chile and the 2021 3x3 FIBA U18 World Cup in Hungary. She also was part of a silver-medal finish at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico.
She joins All-ACC performer Nya Robertson in UT's spring portal signing group. Barker becomes the fourth top-30-ranked player from the 2022 class on UT's roster, adding to a unit that already included No. 15 Ruby Whitehorn, No. 18 Talaysia Cooper and No. 30 Zee Spearman.Â
A 6-foot-4 rising senior forward, Barker appeared in 36 games for UCLA during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest over 17.4 minutes per outing while helping a deep Bruins squad reach its first NCAA Final Four. Barker scored in double figures in 11 games and pulled down 10 or more rebounds on seven occasions, carding six double-doubles in her lone season in Westwood while coming off the bench in 33 of 36 contests.
Two of her signature performances came when she supplied 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting along with 10 rebounds vs. Long Beach State and 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 12 boards vs. Michigan State. She also had a 17-point, 12-rebound performance vs. Arkansas and an 18-point, 11-board effort vs. Pepperdine.
"Janiah is special," Caldwell said. "She is a guard in a post's body, and I am excited to watch her game grow during her final college season.Â
"Her best basketball is ahead of her, and I am thankful that I have an opportunity to coach her. She will have an immediate impact, and the sky is the limit for her."
Prior to heading west, the Marietta, Georgia, native started 34 of 49 games over two seasons at Texas A&M, where she arrived as the highest ranked recruit in school history. She averaged 12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 assists while shooting at percentages of 47 percent from the field and 36.2 from the three-point arc. She averaged 25.1 minutes per game and hit 34 treys during her time in College Station.
Barker was in the starting five for 27 of 30 games at Texas A&M in 2023-24, averaging 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals as a sophomore. She fired away at percentages of 47.9 from the field and 34.3 from beyond the arc and drained a career-best 23 treys. She was named to the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award Watchlist that season, finishing with 21 games of double-figure scoring, eight contests with 10+ rebounds and eight double-doubles.Â
In 2022-23, she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and garnered SEC Freshman of the Week distinction twice and USBWA National Freshman of the Week honors on one occasion. Barker played in 19 contests, starting seven and averaging 12.7 points per game as the lone freshman in the league to pace her team in scoring. She was second best for the Aggies in rebounds per game at 5.9, shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point range. She compiled 11 games of scoring in double figures and had two with 10+ rebounds and a pair of double-doubles. Her 24-point outing vs. Georgia on 10-of-11 shooting remains a career best.
Barker was a WBCA, McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-American in high school, helping lead Montverde Academy (Tampa, Fla.) to its first-ever GEICO High School National Championship in 2022. She averaged 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds during her senior campaign, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep.Â
On the international stage, she won gold medals with USA Basketball at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Chile and the 2021 3x3 FIBA U18 World Cup in Hungary. She also was part of a silver-medal finish at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWBB | Kim Caldwell Media Availability (8.28.25)
Thursday, August 28
Lady Vol Basketball Season Attendance 2024-25
Thursday, April 10
WBB | Caldwell, Whitehorn, Spencer Postgame Presser | 3.29.25
Saturday, March 29
WBB | Highlights: Lady Vols 59, Texas 67 (3.29.25)
Saturday, March 29
