KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper confirmed that she has received an SEC Grant-in-Aid (GIA) and Institutional Financial Aid Agreement (IFAA) from Jillian Hollingshead (HAW-ling-shed), a 2021 McDonald’s All-American who will join the Lady Vols after spending her freshman year at the University of Georgia.
Hollingshead, a 6-foot-5 forward, hails from Powder Springs, Ga., and graduated from McEachern High School, where she was rated the No. 16 overall player by ProspectsNation.com and ranked No. 37 in the espnW 100. In addition to earning McDonald’s accolades, Hollingshead participated in the 2021 Jordan Brand Classic.
“We are so excited to add Jillian Hollingshead to the Lady Vol family,” Harper said. “Jillian is a talented and experienced forward, and with her size and skill set she has the ability to play and be effective in multiple positions. Her personality and high character will be a great fit with our team and culture.”
Hollingshead appeared in 20 games in 2021-22 for Georgia, averaging 5.1 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 69.2 percent from the charity stripe. She missed a portion of the season due to illness and injury but the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week notched two games scoring in double figures.
She appeared to return to full strength toward the end of the year, tallying a season-high 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting vs. Dayton in the NCAA Tournament First Round in 15 minutes of action. In other top efforts, she had a 12-point performance against South Alabama on Dec. 21, the first double-figure scoring game of her career, and notched nine points and four boards against No. 2-ranked NC State in a season-high 27 minutes.
Hollingshead finished her prep career at McEachern after spending three seasons at Holy Innocents Episcopal School. She averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior, nabbing Atlanta Journal-Constitution Class 7A Player of the Year and Atlanta Tip-Off Club First-Team All-State honors after guiding MHS to a 2021 region title and the semifinals of the state tournament.
As a sophomore, she led Holy Innocents to a state championship, scoring 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the title game. She was a GACA Class 1A North All-State (2020) selection as a junior and an Atlanta Journal-Constitution Class A-Private All-State (2019) honoree as a sophomore. She also was invited to the USA Women’s U16 National Team Trials, where she was one of 18 finalists for the 2019 USA Women’s U16 National Team.
Hollingshead joins four other scholarship newcomers to the UT program and is the fourth transfer addition. Harper previously confirmed the signing of a pair of all-conference performers in 6-2 forward Rickea (rih-KEE-yuh) Jackson from Mississippi State and 5-6 point guard Jasmine Powell from Minnesota via the portal on March 30, and 6-1 Missouri State graduate transfer forward Jasmine Franklin on April 22. Justine Pissott (pih-SOTT), a 6-4 guard/forward from Toms River, N.J., who is the No. 11 overall player in the class of 2022 according to espnW HoopGurlz, signed with Tennessee in November of 2021 after committing to Harper in October of 2020.
The No. 16 and 37 overall player in the ProspectsNation.com and espnW 100 Class of 2021 rankings, respectively, Hollingshead joins a sophomore group at UT (No. 28/43 Sara Puckett, No. 39/45 Karoline Striplin, No. 89/NR, Brooklynn Miles, No. 100/62 Kaiya Wynn) that was assessed national rankings of No. 9 and No. 15 at the time of their signing.
Hollingshead also strengthens UT’s highly-regarded incoming group of transfers that makes a solid case as the best in the country this spring. In its individual rankings of players transferring, ESPN has Jackson slotted at No. 1, followed by Franklin at No. 8 and Powell at No. 10.
-UT Athletics
