University of Tennessee Athletics
2024-25 Tennessee Athletics Year in Review
July 09, 2025 | General
For the first time in school history, Tennessee Athletics achieved its third consecutive top-10 finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup. Tennessee ranked sixth in the nation, marking its second-best finish since the Directors' Cup was established in 1993. The top three finishes for Tennessee in the Directors' Cup have occurred in the last three years, as it placed third in 2023-24 and sixth in 2022-23.
All 20 sports at Tennessee reached the postseason (NCAAs and a bowl game) for just the second time in school history – with both achievements coming in each of the last two years. Tennessee is the only Power Five school to have every sport reach the postseason in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
With 1,078 total points this year, Tennessee finished behind Texas (1,255.25), Southern California (1,253.75), Stanford (1,251), North Carolina (1,195.25), and UCLA (1,149). Five sports finished in the top five nationally, led by softball's national semifinal finish. Overall, 12 UT programs placed in the final top 15 for the 2024-25 academic year.
Tennessee also finished second in the SEC All-Sports Trophy standings. It marked the school's fourth consecutive top-two spot, after winning the crown each of the past three years.
In addition, 49 Tennessee student-athletes combined for 81 total All-American honors, including 29 individuals amassing 45 total First Team All-America honors. Tennessee earned eight SEC individual awards, with seven going to student-athletes: Jordan Crooks (SEC Co-Swimmer of the Year), Liam Doyle (SEC Pitcher of the Year), Alex Kotzen (SEC Men's Tennis Newcomer of the Year), Chaz Lanier (SEC Men's Basketball Newcomer of the Year), Karlyn Pickens (SEC Pitcher of the Year), Dylan Sampson (SEC Football Offensive Player of the Year), Zakai Zeigler (SEC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year) and Kim Cupini (SEC Rowing Co-Coach of the Year).
"We are thrilled to have achieved success across all 20 of our sports, culminating in this sixth-place finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup. This result not only ties for our second-best finish in school history but also marks the first time we have achieved a Top 10 ranking for three consecutive years. Congratulations to our exceptional student-athletes, coaches and staff for giving their all for Tennessee!"Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White
The University of Tennessee led the nation in combined attendance across football, men's basketball and women's basketball during 2024-25 regular season competition. Tennessee paced the country in both cumulative and average attendance, just as it did in 2023-24.
A total of 1,234,843 fans attended Tennessee's 41 regular season home games across the three sports, good for over 99,000 above second-place Michigan. Just six schools—the other four were Ohio State, LSU, South Carolina and Texas—eclipsed one million fans in cumulative home attendance.
Tennessee finished as the lone school in America to average over 30,000 fans per game across the three sports during the regular season, notching a 30,118 mark. Second-place Michigan (29,110) and third-place Ohio State (28,278) were the only other schools to even surpass a 26,000 mark.
The only school in America to rank even top-15 nationally in cumulative attendance and/or average attendance during the regular season in all three sports, Tennessee finished top-six in every category.
The Spring 2025 semester continued a remarkable run of record-breaking academic excellence for Tennessee Athletics, as the student-athlete population achieved a cumulative 3.43 GPA, the highest GPA in UT history for any semester.
The record-setting spring metrics marked the 25th consecutive semester in which the Vols and Lady Vols combined to post a GPA of 3.0 or higher. For the fifth straight semester, every team in every sport had a GPA above 3.0. The spring semester included a record-high combined GPA of 3.33 for Tennessee's men's sports, including program-best performances achieved by baseball (3.71), men's basketball (3.59), and football (3.25).
A department record 272 student-athletes were recognized on their respective Dean's List, while 82 percent of Tennessee's student-athletes achieved a 3.00 GPA or higher. The women's tennis program recorded the highest spring term GPA of any team since 2017 with a team GPA of 3.78. Seven teams equaled or set new spring GPA records including baseball, men's basketball, football, softball, men's tennis, women's tennis, women's track and field and volleyball.
All 16 sports earned a team GPA above 3.00 (fifth consecutive semester) and 82 student-athletes earned a 4.00 semester GPA.
"We are absolutely elated by the success that our student-athletes had in the classroom this spring. It was truly a remarkable academic year where the departmental and sport-specific academic record books were re-written! These efforts are just another data point signaling a departmental and institutional culture that demands excellence in every arena and supports a transformational student-athlete experience."Senior Associate Athletics Director & Assistant Provost Chris Johnson
Pocket Aces ????
— Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) May 20, 2025
Tennessee is the first school in SEC history to have won simultaneous Pitcher of the Year awards in softball and baseball multiple times
2025 - Pickens + Doyle
2005 - Abbott + Hochevar pic.twitter.com/7aWth2C2bf
SOFTBALL
Tennessee returned to the Women’s College World Series in 2025, marking the program’s ninth trip to Oklahoma City and its second in the last three seasons.
The Lady Vols finished the 2025 campaign ranked No. 4 in all four major polls, compiling a 47-17 overall record. Tennessee made its 22nd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance—its 21st in a row—and hosted a regional for the 20th consecutive season under head coach Karen Weekly.
Tabbed as the No. 7 national seed, UT swept through the Knoxville Regional with a perfect 3-0 record to advance to the Super Regionals for the 14th time in program history. In the Supers, the Lady Vols bounced back from a Game 1 loss to defeat Nebraska in the best-of-three series, clinching their spot in OKC.
At the WCWS, Tennessee knocked off Florida and UCLA to reach the semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
During the regular season, the Lady Vols won SEC road series at No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma—becoming the first team in history to win series at both schools in the same season. Tennessee has now won eight straight SEC road series and 22 of its last 25 league series overall.
Junior ace Karlyn Pickens anchored the team’s success in the circle, earning SEC Pitcher of the Year honors for the second straight season. She was also named Softball America Pitcher of the Year and was a consensus first-team All-American for the second year in a row.
Five Lady Vols—Kinsey Fiedler, McKenna Gibson, Sophia Nugent, Taylor Pannell and Pickens—were named NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region.
FOOTBALL
Tennessee football won double-digit games for the second time in three seasons, while celebrating the program’s first College Football Playoff berth in Josh Heupel’s fourth campaign. After being projected to finish seventh by the media at SEC Media Days, the Volunteers finished tied for second in the final SEC regular season standings at 6-2 with Georgia. They joined the Bulldogs and Texas as SEC representatives in the 2024-25 CFP. Though a 10-3 season ended in a CFP first round loss at eventual national champion Ohio State, Tennessee secured its winningest three-year stretch since 1998-2000 (30) and finished No. 8 in the Amway Coaches poll and No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25.
Heupel’s Vols continued their recent success against rivals, outlasting Florida in a 23-17 overtime thriller and topping Alabama, 24-17, in come-from-behind fashion on The Third Saturday in October. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks was a finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach after overseeing a unit that finished in the FBS top 10 in nine different categories. Tennessee’s 2024 defense surrendered its fewest point per game average (16.1) since the 1998 national championship team issued 14.5 points per game.
First-year starter Dylan Sampson was tabbed the SEC Offensive Player of the Year after shattering five single-season rushing records as the Vols led the SEC in rushing for the second straight year, averaging 225.8 yards per game. Sampson became the third different Vol in the Heupel era to earn SEC Player of the Year honors – offense, defense or special teams. Meanwhile, center Cooper Mays, a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, became the 79th player in school history to earn first-team All-America honors. Cornerback Jermod McCoy, in his first year in Orange and White, was named a second-team All-American along with Sampson. The disruptive defense also featured two-time first-team All-SEC edge rusher James Pearce Jr., who was selected with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.
Neyland Stadium’s storied history was perpetuated with a sellout crowd for every home game, lifting the Vols’ streak to 20 consecutive sellouts entering the 2025 season. UT exhausted its season ticket inventory for the second straight season in the fall of 2024 and have already done so for a third consecutive campaign this fall.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
One year after making the Final Four, the women's tennis program turned in yet another sensational campaign. Ninth-year head coach Alison Ojeda led the Lady Volunteers to a second straight Elite Eight appearance, the first such occurence in program history. Tennessee has doubled its all-time Elite Eight total over the last two years.
Ojeda guided Tennessee to a 20-8 (10-4 SEC) record, good for a third straight campaign with 20-plus total victories and nine-plus SEC triumphs. After placing No. 12 in the year-end ITA rankings in 2024, its then-best finish since 2010, Tennessee eclipsed that mark by finishing ninth in 2025. The Lady Volunteers also finished first in the ITA Ohio Valley Region for the fifth consecutive year.
Tennessee amassed eight ITA top-25 wins on the year, including six over top-15 foes and two over top-seven opponents. The final one came with a decisive 4-0 sweep at seventh-ranked Virginia in NCAA Super Regionals.
Elza Tomase collected ITA All-America honors in singles after going 26-12 and finishing fourth in the national rankings. A finalist for the prestigious Honda Award and one of just five women's players selected to the ITA College Accelerator Program, Tomase also earned her fourth All-SEC distinction, including her second first-team nod.
Catherine Aulia, who ended the year at No. 34 in the rankings, joined Tomase on the First Team All-SEC list. Leyla Britez Risso placed No. 59 in the final rankings, while four Tennessee doubles pairs took top-65 spots. In addition, Matias Marin repeated as the Ohio Valley Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
Business is boomin' ??#GBO ?? pic.twitter.com/8NRamMLcRt
— Tennessee Women's Tennis (@Vol_WTennis) May 12, 2025
SWIMMING & DIVING
The 2024-25 campaign went down as one of the most historic seasons in Tennessee history, as the Vols finished fifth at the NCAA Championships, marking the highest finish for the team since placing third overall in 2001. After coming in sixth last season and seventh in 2023, this marked the first back-to-back-to-back top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships for the Big Orange in more than two decades.
One of the most decorated Vols in Tennessee Athletics history, Jordan Crooks went out with a bang during his final season on Rocky Top. The 2025 SEC Co-Swimmer of the Year was an Olympic finalist in Paris and then defended his world title in the 50 freestyle at the Short Course World Championships while becoming the first swimmer ever to go sub-20 seconds in the event by posting a World Record mark of 19.90. During the season, he won the 50 free national title for the second time in his career and helped UT take gold in the 200 and 400 free relays. He also became the NCAA record holder in the 100 freestyle, touching the wall in 39.83, and was a member of the record-breaking 200 free relay (1:12.80) and 400 free relay (2:42.30) along with Nikoli Blackman, Gui Caribe and Lamar Taylor.
At the SEC Championships, Crooks became the first swimmer in SEC history to win four straight titles in the 50 free. He tied Florida's Josh Liendo for first in the 100 free, marking his second title in that event during his career. Crooks also led the UT 200 free, 400 free and 200 medley relays to gold medal performances.
The Lady Vols earned their seventh straight top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships, placing fifth overall. The effort marked the fourth-best finish in program history behind the 2013 team, which took third, and the 1989 and 2024 squads that placed fourth. Tennessee boasted 11 podium performances and 22 top-16 finishes — the latter of which marked the most in program history surpassing the 1989 and 2013 squads that had 18. Three of the five of the UT relays claimed a spot on the podium, led by silver medals in the 400 free and 400 medley relays.
The Big Orange won five total medals at NCAAs with three silver and two bronze. Five Lady Vols garnered first team All-America honors in an individual event, with Josephine Fuller, Mona McSharry and Camille Spink doing so in multiple events.
One of the greatest breaststrokers of all time, McSharry concluded her collegiate career with a second-place finish in the 100 breast and a fifth-place finish in the 200 breast. Of her 10 times competing in the breaststrokes at NCAAs, McSharry finished inside the top five an impressive nine times. She ended her career as the SEC record holder in the 100 breast (56.64).
At the SEC Championships, the team finished third overall with 1172 points, bringing home seven SEC titles and winning 18 total medals. McSharry swept the breaststroke races for the third year in a row, while Spink completed a sweep of the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free to become the first SEC swimmer to achieve the feat since Georgia's Kara Lynn Joyce in 2007. For her performances throughout the week, she was a co-recipient of the SEC Commissioner's Trophy, which is awarded to the top individual point scorers of the meet.
Following the season, Dave Parrington retired as the most decorated diving coach in SEC history after 35 years with UT. Tennessee hired Jane Figueiredo to take over, with VFL Mike Wright named an assistant.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Tennessee, for the second straight year, had perhaps its best year ever. As they did in 2023-24, the Volunteers finished fifth in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll and KenPom after reaching the Elite Eight. Rick Barnes, who became the winningest active DI coach in the country, led the team to 30 victories, its third-most ever, to mark the first time Tennessee hit that mark and made the Regional Final in the same year.
The Volunteers spent the entire season in the AP top 12, including placing top-eight for the final 18 weeks, with 11 top-five positions and five in a row—matching their prior all-time total—at the No. 1 spot nationally. Tennessee was the country’s final unbeaten team—the only other prior such occurrence came in 1915-16—after beginning the year 14-0 to match the best start in program history.
The Volunteers, who reached the SEC Tournament title game, tallied 10 AP top-25 wins to shatter their prior record of seven. Their seven AP top-15 triumphs also set a program record, while their four AP top-10 decisions—all over top-seven teams, half away from home—tied the school’s top mark.
Barnes, who became the fourth coach with at least 29 DI NCAA Tournament berths—the others are Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Roy Williams—led his team to two buzzer-beating victories. The first came at Illinois and the latter was against sixth-ranked Alabama.
Tennessee was the only team with two All-Americans in 2024-25. Zakai Zeigler was a third-team honoree from all four major outlets, while Chaz Lanier earned the distinction from two of them. Zeigler, the third repeat SEC Defensive Player of the Year and fourth three-time SEC assists leader, and Jahmai Mashack were two of the four Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalists. Zeigler set the SEC single-season assists record (275), plus the Tennessee career assists (747) and steals (251) record. Lanier, who won the Jerry West Award, logged the most made 3-pointers (123) in a season in program history.
elite energy pic.twitter.com/08sjCZVg2c
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 29, 2025
ROWING
For the second consecutive year, the Tennessee rowing team finished the season inside the top five in the final CRCA Coaches Poll. The Lady Vols' No. 5 ranking came on the heels of another historic campaign in which they secured back-to-back top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships.
Tennessee finished fifth nationally in the team standings at the NCAA Championships with 106 points—solidifying the most successful two-year stretch in school history.
In the inaugural SEC rowing season, the Big Orange captured three gold medals. Additionally, they also put up a clean sweep to win the inaugural Rocky Top Invite after earning head-to-head 1V8 wins over No. 3 Washington, No. 6 Princeton, No. 7 Brown and No. 9 Rutgers.
Following another successful season, head coach Kim Cupini was named SEC Co-Coach of the Year, while five Tennessee rowers were named 2025 All-SEC honorees. Four Lady Vols were named CRCA All-Americans, with Alex Pidgeon also tabbed a CRCA Athlete of the Year Finalist.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kim Caldwell’s debut season as head coach of the Lady Vols produced memorable wins over Connecticut, Iowa, Florida State and Ohio State en route to an NCAA Sweet 16 finish. The triumph over UConn came in front of the home fans at Food City Center, with the program’s largest crowd (16,215) since 2012 and several LVFLs on hand enthusiastically cheering their team and jubilantly celebrating when time expired.
Tennessee compiled a 24-10 overall record and 8-8 mark in SEC play, finishing in a tie for eighth place in the league and wrapping up the year at No. 15 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 16 in the USA TODAY/WBCA Coaches Top 25. The season-end rankings, coming in Caldwell’s initial campaign at the NCAA Power 4 level, were the highest since 2020-21.
Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper led five UT players averaging double figures in scoring on her way to All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Defensive Team accolades. The 6-foot guard started 27 of 34 games, averaging a team-leading 16.6 points and 3.1 steals per contest and tying for the squad lead with three double-doubles. That scoring average knotted Cooper for ninth at Tennessee in career scoring average after one season.
Also tallying 10 or more points per game were fifth-year guard Jewel Spear (12.5 ppg.), junior forward Zee Spearman (11.7 ppg., 6.0 rpg.), junior guard Ruby Whitehorn (11.6 ppg., 4.0 rpg.) and senior guard Samara Spencer (10.6 ppg., 4.6 apg., 3.7 rpg. and 1.3 spg.). Spear drained 77 three-pointers to tie for fifth-most ever by a Lady Vol, while Spencer hit 66 and fifth-year guard/forward Tess Darby made 58 on the year, giving UT its first-ever 50-trey trio. Darby ran her career totals to 228 three-pointers in 146 games for the No. 5 and No. 2 sums, respectively, in program history.
Tennessee produced several record-setting performances during the season and generated one of the highest scoring averages in school history. The Big Orange women finished fourth in program annals in points per game at 86.6 ppg. and eclipsed the 100-point plateau on seven occasions to match the school best. UT also crushed the old mark of six games with 10 or more three-pointers by doing so 18 times and it fired in an NCAA-record 30 three-pointers vs. NC Central to help generate an SEC-record 343 three-pointers made over 34 games during the year. The Big Orange’s 16 threes vs. South Florida in the NCAA First Round set a program tournament record, ranked second of any school all-time in the tourney and rated as the second-highest total in a game in school history.
TRACK & FIELD
In Tennessee’s third season under head coach and director of track & field Duane Ross, the Vols and Lady Vols totaled 35 individual/relay All-America honors, 14 SEC medals and 14 program records over the course of the indoor and outdoor seasons. The men’s squad was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally during the regular outdoor season, while the women ascended to No. 10 during the outdoor campaign.
For the second time in three years, the Big Orange carded multiple top-15 finishes at the NCAA Championship meets. The Lady Vols tied for 15th at the indoor national meet, while the Vols equaled 14th place in the team standings at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Tennessee totaled four individual and relay conference titles during the 2025 campaign, beginning with Blake Sifferlin (men’s pole vault) and Myreanna Bebe (women’s 60-meter hurdles) claiming SEC crowns at the indoor championship meet with marks of 5.50m (18-0.5) and 7.95 seconds, respectively. The men’s 4x100-meter relay quartet of Deron Dudley, Davonte Howell, Kalib Branch and T’Mars McCallum earned the conference title in school-record fashion with a time of 38.20 at the SEC Outdoor Championships, while Vol freshman Saad Hinti took home UT’s first SEC gold in the 400-meter hurdles in nearly four decades with a time of 48.44.
On the national stage, the Lady Vols earned four First-Team All-America performances at the NCAA Indoor Championships – headlined by a fourth-place finish for the women’s 4x400-meter relay group of Cydney Wright, Esther Joseph, Brianna White and Javonya Valcourt with a school-record mark of 3:27.25. The men tallied six scoring performances at the outdoor national meet – including fifth-place showings for the Vols in the 4x100-meter relay, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles.
?????? ?????????????????? ????
— Tennessee Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) May 17, 2025
The Vols take the 4x100m relay conference title with an NCAA LEAD, SCHOOL RECORD and STADIUM RECORD!
?? — 38.20 pic.twitter.com/Q0HpdjsKeF
MEN'S TENNIS
With only two returning players on the roster from the previous season, the Tennessee men's tennis team had numerous accomplishments during the 2025 dual season in year eight of the Chris Woodruff era. After starting 0-3 in SEC play, the Vols were able to make a quick turnaround and create another successful campaign on Rocky Top, finishing 22-9 (9-5 SEC).
Alex Kotzen and Shunsuke Mitsui held down the top two spots in singles for the entirety of the season, as both earned First Team All-SEC honors, while Kotzen also earned SEC Newcomer of the Year honors. For Mitsui, he put a bow on one of the most impressive careers in program history, etching his name in the record book in several categories. His 104 career singles wins currently rank fifth in school history and he is also the seventh Vol to record 100 singles victories and 100 doubles triumphs while at UT. The Shizuoka, Japan, native earned ITA All-American status for the second straight season after reaching the Round of 16 at the NCAA Individual Championships in November.
Tennessee was able to reach the SEC Tournament semifinals for the sixth straight season, while the Vols also extended their streak of both hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and making an NCAA Super Regional to six years. Four individuals were ranked throughout the course of the season for Tennessee, as Alex Kotzen, Shunsuke Mitsui and Alejandro Moreno were tabbed in singles and pairings of Alejandro Moreno/Alex Kotzen and Shunsuke Mitsui/Alan Jesudason were ranked for the Big Orange in doubles.
WOMEN'S GOLF
Throughout the 2024-25 season, the Lady Vols logged eight top-five team finishes and notched a 13th-place showing at the NCAA Championships.
In the fourth season at the helm of her alma mater, head coach Diana Cantú guided UT to its first NCAA Championships berth since 2019 and guided UT to match play quarterfinals at the SEC Championships. Tennessee advanced to the NCAA Championships following a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Lubbock Regional where Martina Lopez-Lanchares tied for fifth individually.
Additionally, freshman Kyra Van Kan was slated to the SEC All-Freshman team after six top-25 outings, including a runner-up finish at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. Van Kan also earned a pair of SEC Freshman of the Week honors in the spring.
Following a successful season, Cantú was named to the Division I Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year Watch List.
So proud of this group ??
— Tennessee Women's Golf (@Vol_WGolf) May 20, 2025
We conclude our season with a 13th place finish at the NCAA Championships! #GBO ???? pic.twitter.com/tHwQFhhWeD
BASEBALL
Tennessee followed up its first National Championship in program history with another strong season in 2025, finishing with a 46-19 overall record, including a 16-14 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
The Volunteers advanced to their program-record fifth consecutive NCAA Super Regional after earning the No. 14 national seed and winning the NCAA Knoxville Regional over Wake Forest, Cincinnati and Miami (OH). UT is the only program in the nation that has appeared in the super regionals in each of the last five years. Tennessee also became the first defending national champion to advance to the super regional round since Florida did so in 2018.
With 46 victories in 2025, the Big Orange extended their streak of consecutive 40-win seasons, joining Arkansas and Southern Miss as the only Division I programs to win at least 40 games in each of the last six full seasons (2020 COVID-shortened season not included).
The Vols once again displayed impressive power, finishing as one of the nation’s leaders in home runs for the fifth straight year. UT hit 131 long balls, which ranked second in the country and marked the fourth consecutive season it has hit 100 or more homers. Tennessee had eight players hit double-digit dingers, led by Andrew Fischer’s 25, which led the SEC and is the second most in a single season in program history.
Tennessee was well-represented when it came to postseason honors, boasting five players that earned All-America recognition, including unanimous first-team selections in Fischer and starting pitcher Liam Doyle. Junior infielder Gavin Kilen was also tabbed as an All-American by multiple outlets while redshirt senior outfielder Hunter Ensley earned second-team honors from the ABCA and Levi Clark garnered Freshman All-America accolades from Perfect Game.
Doyle – who was named the Perfect Game National Pitcher of the Year, the NCBWA District 3 Pitcher of the Year and the SEC Pitcher of the Year – put together one of the most dominant seasons on the mound in program history. He was also just the third player in UT history to be named a finalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy in the same season, joining Tennessee legends Chris Burke (2001) and Todd Helton (1995). he junior lefty was named the NCAA Knoxville Regional Most Outstanding Player and finished his junior campaign with a 10-4 record to go along with 3.20 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 19 appearances (17 starts). Doyle led the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (15.43) and finishing second in the country with a program record 164 strikeouts.
VOLLEYBALL
Despite losing three All-Americans to graduation and five starters from the previous season, the 2024 Tennessee Lady Vols earned a fourth straight bid to the NCAA Tournament and finished in the top half of the SEC. The Big Orange ultimately fell in five sets against No. 18 Georgia Tech in the first round of the postseason.
Tennessee was led by graduate student Nina Cajic, who garnered AVCA All-America Second Team honors as one of the nation's top offensive players. In her lone season on Rocky Top, Cajic broke the Tennessee single-match record and SEC modern era record for kills (42) as well as UT's 25-point rally-scoring era record for aces in a match (7) and aces per set (0.39) in a single season. She ranked third in aces (41), fourth in kills per set (4.31) and seventh in kills (448) for a single season in school history during the 25-point rally-scoring era.
During Tennessee’s win against Western Michigan on Sept. 19, Cajic had a performance for the ages, tallying 42 kills on 76 attacks and .500 hitting, setting the Tennessee for kills in a match that stood since 1988. She became the first player in SEC history to eclipse 40 kills in a match during the modern era one one of two NCAA players during the 25-point rally scoring era to have 40-plus kills in a four-set match. It marked the most kills by a DI player in a match for the season; no other player had more than 38.
The All-SEC First Team selection led the league in aces per set (0.51) and ranked ninth in kills per set (4.16) during conference play. She was the first Lady Vol during the modern era to post 30 kills in a match, and she did so twice. The AVCA All-Region team member eclipsed 20 kills in five matches throughout the season. Her final numbers for the year were 513 points, 448 kills, 204 digs, 42 blocks, 41 aces and 19 assists.
Redshirt sophomore setter Caroline Kerr garnered All-American status for the second year in a row, becoming the first setter in program history to earn the recognition in multiple seasons. The All-SEC selection finished with 1,069 assists—her second year in a row eclipsing 1,000—to mark the eighth most for a single year during the UT 25-point rally-scoring era, while her 10.28 assists per set ranked sixth. She also ranked sixth in the SEC and 33rd nationally in assists per set.
To open the 2024 campaign, UT saw its program record for single-match attendance shattered when 6,193 fans packed out Food City Center for the contest against Penn State. Over the course of the season. the top five largest home crowds in Tennessee history occurred, and for the second year in a row, UT shattered its records for total attendance (41,544) and average attendance (3,196).
MEN'S GOLF
For the second consecutive season and first time since the 1980 and 1981 seasons, the Tennessee men's golf team posted back-to-back top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships.
The Big Orange qualified for the NCAA Championships by way of placing third at the NCAA Amherst Regional. Individually, Lance Simpson had a breakout year. The redshirt junior earned both PING and Golfweek All-America Honorable Mention status after four top-10 finishes and a career-high 24 rounds of par or better on the season, which marks the third-most in a single season in program history.
Additionally, freshman Jackson Herrington appeared in the five-man lineup in each tournament and recorded four top-25 showings. For the third season in a row, Tennessee men's golf associate head coach Bo Andrews was named a finalist for the Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award.
A MAJOR DAY ON THE COUSE FOR LANCE SIMPSON??
— Tennessee Golf (@Vol_Golf) May 20, 2025
After golf’s longest day, the junior has punched his ticket to the 2025 U.S. Open??? pic.twitter.com/gdWz63Ky6t
SOCCER
In 2024, the Lady Vols advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and 16th time in program history while also posting eight clean sheets.
UT compiled a record of 9-7-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament after topping Kentucky, 1-0. During the regular season, Tennessee secured a top-five win over No. 5 Memphis after Mac Midgley found the back of the net in the 48th minute.
Reese Mattern made an immediate impact on Rocky Top which earned her SEC All-Freshman Team honors. The Charlottesville, Virginia, native started in all 17 matches while producing a team-high three assists and scoring two goals. Mattern has also tallied 32 shots with 16 coming on goal.
Following their performance in SEC play, juniors Ally Brown and Mac Midgley were tabbed Third Team All-SEC selections. Brown led the team in minutes played (1,800) and anchored the backline to eight shutouts on the season, six of which came consecutively. Additionally, she registered a goal and two assists as a center back.
Midgley had a productive year on the pitch after starting in all 20 matches for Tennessee, registering four goals and 10 points, finishing second on the team in both categories.
CROSS COUNTRY
Under first-year head coach Justin Duncan, the Lady Vols had another successful season as they qualified for the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005-06.
The Lady Vols earned a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships—their best conference showing since 2009. Four runners garnered All-SEC honors, highlighted by Ashley Jones, who earned first-team recognition with a sixth-place individual finish. Jillian Candelino, Rachel Sutliff and Caroline Lyerly each secured spots on the All-SEC third team.
Following a fourth-place finish at the NCAA South Regional, Tennessee received an at-large bid to the national meet, where the Lady Vols placed 26th overall.
On the men’s side, Tennessee finished sixth at the SEC Championships. Christopher Middleton-Pearson advanced to the NCAA Championships as an individual qualifier.
A New Era ??#GBO ?? pic.twitter.com/eSyXVBvZT0
— Tennessee Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) November 2, 2024
An exciting new era is just getting started! ??
— Tennessee Track & Field/XC (@Vol_Track) December 5, 2024
After his first fall leading the distance program, head cross country coach Justin Duncan stopped by the Everything Orange podcast
Click the link below to watch/listen/subscribe ??https://t.co/hSAy8z1i7f pic.twitter.com/Eomnx38ss1
Tennessee Athletics is proud to recognize and salute its five 2024-25 retirees: assistant director of ticket operations Danny Burnley, “Voice of the Vols” Bob Kesling, head diving coach Dave Parrington, mail specialist Gary Robinette and associate AD - director of facilities & capital projects Kevin Zurcher.
UT thanks Danny, Bob, Dave, Gary and Kevin for their many contributions over a combined 171-plus years working on Rocky Top and wishes them well moving forward!
A big orange congratulations to @AD_DannyWhite on being named Athletic Director of the Year by @SBJ pic.twitter.com/hCt7tAFIge
— Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) May 22, 2025
Gallery: 2024-2025 Academic Year in Photos
