MARYVILLE, Tenn. – Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee thanks East Tennessee for their overwhelming generosity during the food bank’s 14 th annual Double Your Donation (DYD) event on December 5th. Thanks to $750,000 in matching gifts from our sponsors, and the tremendous support from our community, the match was successfully met, resulting in a total of $1,649,550 in donations.
Second Harvest Food Bank Thanks Community for Support – Second Harvest received enough donations to provide 4,948,650 meals during DYD
“We’re beyond thankful for the incredible support from our community during our 14th Annual Double Your Donation event,” said Elaine Streno, Executive Director of Second Harvest. “Thanks to this day of giving, we’re able to provide 4,948,650 meals to families across the 18 counties we serve.”
Second Harvest would like to thank Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union, Republic Plastics, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Kroger, Commercial Bank, SouthEast Bank, Enrichment Federal Credit Union, UnitedHealthcare, and Bush Brothers for their generosity and support.
About Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, a member of Feeding America, has worked to compassionately feed East Tennesseans experiencing hunger since 1982. Last year, Second Harvest distributed more than 24 million pounds of food across an 18-county service area through multiple hunger-relief programs and 630+ community partners.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday that Tennessee wide receiver Bru McCoy was named to the 2024 SEC Football Community Service Team.
The SEC names a Community Service Team for each of its 21-league sponsored sports, looking to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to his community through superior service efforts.
One of Tennessee football’s most active community servants, McCoy is helping to make sudden cardiac arrest prevention, awareness and treatment a priority this season as he co-created Huddle for Hearts. Through Huddle For Hearts, his work provides AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) to youth sports organizations – focusing primarily on underserved communities.
McCoy has helped facilitate multiple CPR training and demo seminars in the Knoxville community, and four AED machines have been donated to inner-city youth. He also hosted a charity golf tournament during the summer of 2024 to benefit the organization.
The redshirt senior earned his undergraduate degree in communication studies in August 2024 and is rounding out his third season with the Vols and sixth at the collegiate level this fall. He is a semifinalist for the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award and Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year and served as Tennessee’s nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy and AFCA Good Works Team.
McCoy started every game during Tennessee’s 10-2 regular season and led the Vols with 35 receptions, totaling 432 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
2024 Tennessee Postseason Award Honors as of Dec. 4
Rick Barnes‘ Tennessee Volunteers are off to their first 8-0 start in 24 years, going back to the 2000-01 campaign, which they started 9-0. UT’s 96-70 home victory over Syracuse in the SEC/ACC Challenge Tuesday night was yet another illustration of its thriving team culture, led by Barnes, in his 10th season at the helm on Rocky Top.
As of Thursday, Tennessee is ranked third in the national polls, with a chance to rise in the Monday releases. It also ranks first in the NCAA NET rankings and second in the KenPom ratings, respectively. In addition, the Volunteers are graded second nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (89.1) by KenPom, behind only Duke (87.4), and ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency, making them one of two squads to be rated inside the top 10 on both ends of the court.
Tennessee and Kansas are the only two teams to earn an AP top-five ranking in each of the last four seasons (2021-25). Only two others, Arizona and Purdue, entered 2024-25 with a three-year streak.
Overall, the Volunteers are in the AP top 15 for the 38th time in the last 41 releases, dating to Nov. 28, 2022. Tennessee now has 60 AP top-10 rankings in Barnes’ 10-year tenure, including 28 in the top five, the latter mark 11 more than the program’s full total before his 2015 arrival in Knoxville.
Despite losing four starters from its SEC championship-winning team a season ago, including a trio of fifth-year stars, Tennessee’s staff reloaded the roster with not only players that matched UT’s desired skillset, but those who fit seamlessly into its culture like perfect puzzle pieces.
That culture is attractive and has proven itself season after season, game after game, moment after moment. From defensive relentlessness and offensive discipline to the program’s “It’s Not About Me” mindset, an atmosphere of accountability has been forged.
“There are a lot of guys that can’t handle success,” Barnes said Tuesday. “We talk about getting better every day and the process. We believe in it. It’s human nature, but you can’t let down. I don’t think there are very many players that can afford to let down if they really want to be good. Part of the process is learning how to make yourself work even when you have success. I asked them recently if they knew anything about a proud peacock and what a proud peacock becomes. We know that it becomes a feather duster. So, I said, ‘If what you did today is big to you, that means you haven’t done anything to get better.”
Through eight games this year, the Volunteers have led for 303:50 and trailed for just 6:03 of a possible 320 minutes. Each of its eight victories thus far are by 15-plus points, with seven by at least 22 and three by at least 35. Tennessee has held a lead of 26-plus points in each of its eight contests this season and still has not faced a deficit larger than three.
Tennessee’s second regular season contest of the season, a wire-to-wire 77-55 triumph at Louisville on Nov. 14, served as the program’s third win by 20-plus in a non-conference true road game over the past 49 seasons, joining a 68-45 decision at Iowa State on Jan. 27, 2018, and a 76-50 victory at Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, 1999. The Volunteers held the Cardinals to a 16-of-60 (26.7 percent) ledger from the field, the eighth-lowest mark by a UT foe in Barnes’ tenure, including 10-of-39 (25.6 percent) from deep.
In its victory over Montana on Nov. 13, Tennessee shot 60.8 percent (31-of-51) from the floor, 42.9 percent (9-of-21) beyond the arc and 84.0 percent (21-of- 25) at the line. It marked first time the Volunteers had a 60/40/80 shooting line with five-plus makes in each area over the last 20 seasons (2005-25).
On Nov. 17 against Austin Peay, Tennessee opened the game 18-of-21 from the field and would eventually tie its second-highest point total under Barnes in the 103-68 triumph. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler became the second Vol in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) to notch 19 points, eight rebounds, three rebounds, one steal and one block, alongside Trae Golden (11/11/11). Zeigler also became the fifth Vol to eclipse 500 career assists in the win.
As the Volunteers cliched their Baha Mar Championship victory with a 77-62 win over No. 13/14 Baylor, fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier shot 7-of-8 from deep in the first half alone, good for the fifth-most ever by a UT player in a game.
Then, in its 43-point win over UT Martin the day prior to Thanksgiving, Tennessee held the Skyhawks to just 35 points, setting a record for the fewest scored by a Tennessee opponent in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86). It was the lowest total by a UT foe since Dec. 15, 1973, when Temple scored just six points against the Volunteers.
Lanier has scored 18-plus points in six of his first eight games as a Vol, including 25-plus on three occasions, with each of those efforts coming in the past four contests. The North Florida transfer has led UT in scoring six times already this year and has made at least four 3-point attempts in five games thus far.
Zeigler, who entered the top 10 on Tennessee’s all-time 3-point makes leaderboard in Tuesday’s 96-70 victory over Syracuse, with 184 for his career, has logged a season-high 19 points on two occasions this year. Dishing out nearly eight assists per game, Zeigler has posted eight-plus five times this season, including tallying nine assists in three games thus far. In addition, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year boasts six multi-steal performances through eight contests.
Having established itself as a force on both ends of the court through eight games, Tennessee looks to continue its red-hot start as it faces the Hurricanes of Miami in the Jimmy V Classic, set for Dec. 10 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN.
Tennessee’s statistical dominance stems from its internal standards, an unrelenting desire to improve upon each performance and the brotherhood inside the locker room.
The culture is here to stay. The grit will always remain. Excellence is the only option and Tennessee’s foundational principles will continue to be the pillars that raise the program to new heights.
Nashville, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports that three children who were kidnapped from a bus stop in Virginia may be in East Tennessee.
An Amber Alert has been issued for 10-year-old Jai’Marcus Lewis, 8-year-old Ja’Miyah Lewis, and 6-year-old Ja’Liyah Lewis. Authorities say the three children were were kidnapped at an apartment complex in Virginia Thursday morning. The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office says the kidnapping took place at the Bobby’s Way apartment complex in Fishersville.
Police believe the children are with their biological mother, Shanice Chante Davidson. Deputies responded to a 911 call from the children’s parent at 8:27 a.m.
The three children were “waiting for the bus, when a black 4-door vehicle pulled up to the bus stop, and took the children,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Both Ja’Miyah and Ja’Liyah were wearing pink jackets, while Jai’Marcus was wearing a black and dark blue jacket with neon zippers, officials said. Davidson is described as a 35-year-old Black female. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 184 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.
If you spot the vehicle or individuals, you’re urged to call 911 immediately.
“Investigative efforts indicate they may be in East Tennessee,”the TBI said. (Courtesy: TBI)
Crossville, TN (WOKI) A Maryville man is arrested in Cumberland County and charged with “multiple offenses,” including carrying weapons on school property.
Officials with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office say 33-year-old Robert Alva Sardella was detained Wednesday by a Student Resource Officer on 4th Street after being on the campus of Cumberland County High School. CCSO says the man was looking for the driving school.
Authorities say Sardella was found with a backpack containing a loaded handgun, stun device, expandable baton, a chemical weapon and ammunition.
He is being held on a $55,000 bond pending a court date.
Cumberland County Schools officials assured parents that there “[was] no current threat to students.”
Sevier County sees multiple wildfires this week and fortunately all 4 fires are 100% contained, the latest breaking out last night in Townsend.
Crews called to Province Drive last night and officials say that fire was about 8 acres.
Wednesday, three fires broke out in Sevier County: one at Walden’s Creek near Shagbark Gated Resort estimated to be 81 acres. This fire was started by trees falling on power lines. The second fire at Cresswell Road near East Union Valley which was 8 and a half acres and another at Flat Branch Road near the Spur affecting four acres.
Original Story: Sevier County, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: Sevier County remains under an “Elevated Fire Danger” warning, and officials say NO Burn Permits will be issued as emergency crews have worked and continue to work several brushfires which broke out overnight.
Those fires have closed Foothills Parkway West between Walland and Wears Valley.
Fire officials say a 4-acre fire off Flat Branch Road near the Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and an 8-acre fire in the Creswell Road and East Union Valley area have both been 100% contained, but crews are continuing to monitor them.
As of 1:15 p.m., crews were still working to contain an 81-acre fire at Shagbark/Walden’s Creek in the Overholt Trail area north of Wears Valley where an evacuation order remains in place.
Officials urge residents to avoid affected areas and sign up for CodeRED emergency alerts.
ORIGINAL STORY: Crews are battling fires in Sevier County and windy conditions are making it difficult and so is steep and treacherous terrain.
The Seymour Volunteer Fire Department is one of several agencies that responded to three brush fires last (Wednesday) night.
Crews responded to a brush fire on Creswell Ridge near the Knox and Sevier county line.
One home and multiple outbuildings were threatened but Officials say at 3:30 a.m. this (Thursday) morning the fire was contained with 8 and a half acres burned.
There are two in the Shagbark community.
The first fire, a 2 acre fire, on Emerald Springs Loop in Waldens Creek.
The second on Overholt Trail with more more than 70 people were fighting the fire which is estimated to be about 20 acres.
Officials say both fires in the Shagbark area sparked from trees falling on power lines.
Bristol, TN (WOKI) Tickets for the highly-anticipated MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway are on sale now, and officials say a portion of the ticket sales will go towards Hurricane Helene relief.
Proceeds of ticket sales during the month of December will be donated to Appalachia Service Project and Mountain Ways, with a total commitment of $50,000 that will be split evenly between the two nonprofits.
General public tickets for the game can be purchased here.
The game, which will feature the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds, is scheduled for August 2 at 7:00 p.m.
It will be the first MLB game to be played in Tennessee. (Courtesy: WVLT)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women’s basketball remained unbeaten this season, outlasting a talented Florida State squad, 79-77, in a see-saw affair in front of a crowd of 9,529 on Wednesday night at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (6-0) used a 13-0 run to build a 20-point second-quarter lead and took an 18-point advantage into the intermission before the Seminoles stormed back via a 13-point run of their own to grab a one-point edge, 53-52, with 3:03 to go in the third period. UT quickly retook the lead and ended up staving off the visitors in the fourth quarter as redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper (12) and junior Zee Spearman (10) combined for all 22 of their team’s points in the frame and the Big Orange outworked FSU on the glass, 13-6, including 8-2 on the offensive end.
For the third straight game, Cooper eclipsed 20 points and led Tennessee in scoring, dropping in 22 on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Spearman finished with 13, followed by senior Samara Spencer with 11. Cooper, Spencer and sophomore Alyssa Latham each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the charge on the boards, as UT finished with a 50-39 differential, including 23-10 on the offensive end in a battle between two teams residing just outside of the top-25 polls.
Florida State (8-2), which saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end, was led by the nation’s leading scorer, Ta’Niya Latson, who fired in 38 points. Joining her in double figures were O’Mariah Gordon with 16, Makayla Timpson with 13 and Sydney Bowles with 10. Timpson also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double.
The Seminoles struck first on a layup by Gordon before UT seized a 5-2 lead on a Spearman three and a Cooper put-back. After FSU retook the lead, 6-5, the Lady Vols reeled off six straight points on buckets from Sara Puckett, Ruby Whitehorn and Jillian Hollingshead to move ahead 11-6 and force a timeout with 4:43 remaining in the opening stanza. UT built its lead to as many as eight, 21-13, with 2:02 to go, fueled by a three-pointer and layups by Whitehorn and Latham before the Seminoles cut the gap to six, 21-15, before the quarter’s end.
With both teams seeking their shooting touch, Tennessee sandwiched threes by Tess Darby and Spencer around a Spencer coast-to-coast layup to forge a 29-22 advantage by the 4:59 media break. An 11-3 burst, fueled by a trey and jumper from Cooper and threes by Darby and Jewel Spear pushed the lead to its biggest of the night at 40-25 and required another FSU timeout with 3:23 to go. Another Spear three out of the break and a Spencer layup helped the Big Orange shoot 56.3 percent for the period and extend the lead to 20, 45-25, with 2:06 remaining before a Seminole layup from Timpson with 1:22 to go concluded the scoring. The teams went to the locker room with the home team seemingly in command, 45-27.
Florida State worked itself back into the game quickly at the outset of the third frame. After UT’s Cooper hit a jumper to make it 47-27 with 9:48 remaining, the Seminoles reeled off a 13-0 run and a 17-2 burst in all to cut the gap to 49-44 and force a Lady Vol timeout with 5:37 remaining. Hollingshead hit a layup to slow the FSU momentum, but the visitors responded by scoring six straight points to send the teams into the 3:44 media timeout with Tennessee in front by one, 51-50. FSU grabbed its first lead since the early going, 53-52, with 3:03 left, but a Spencer three put her team back in front, 55-53, with 2:41 to go. UT would lead again 57-55, courtesy of a Latham layup, before the Seminoles knotted it up to send the game into the final 10 minutes tied at 57.
Cooper drew first blood in the final stanza on a layup and then hit a jumper, put-back and driving layup to give UT leads of 61-59, 63-59 and 65-61 early on. A Spearman layup with 4:51 to go and a tip-in with 3:58 left gave her team edges of 67-63 and 69-63, respectively. FSU answered at the 3:51 mark on a Latson layup to send teams into the media timeout with UT up 69-65. Right after the pause, Bowles pulled her team to within one, 69-68, via a long ball with 3:21 remaining. UT pushed the lead back to five twice, with a Cooper turnaround jumper in the paint making it 75-50 with 1:54 left on the clock. FSU kept coming, twice knotting the score at 75-75 with 1:16 left and 77-77 with 49 ticks remaining. Spearman, though, answered with a step-back jumper in the paint to give Tennessee a 79-77 lead with 24 seconds to go. A driving layup attempt by Latson just before the buzzer was off the mark, and Spearman was there to grab the rebound and preserve the victory.
UP NEXT: Tennessee hits the road for its first game outside of Food City Center, when it travels to Brooklyn, N.Y., to face No. 17/20 Iowa on Saturday night in the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic. FOX will televise the game from the Barclays Center at 7 p.m. ET, and the Lady Vol Network and SiriusXM will have radio broadcast and audio stream as well.
UNDEFEATED WITH A FRESH FIVE: Tennessee has started the season 6-0 with six different starting lineups and eight different players appearing in the first five. Ruby Whitehorn, Samara Spencer, Zee Spearman, Tess Darby and Talaysia Cooper opened the contest on Wednesday evening against the Seminoles. Cooper, Spencer and Whitehorn notched their fifth starts, while Darby and Spearman made their third trips to the jump circle.
SIX STRAIGHT ON ROCKY TOP: Tennessee has won its first six games for the initial time since beginning the 2021-22 season at 9-0. This marks the first time since 2015-16 that UT has opened a campaign with six straight games at home. Tennessee played eight in a row here to start the 2015-16 schedule. The Lady Vols also dawned their “Summitt Blue” uniforms against Florida State, improving their record to 5-2 when wearing them, including 4-0 at home.
CALDWELL KEEPS CLIMBING: The Lady Vols’ 6-0 is the second-best opening of a season in Kim Caldwell‘s nine years as a head coach. Last game against Western Carolina, she had matched her 5-0 start at Glenville State in 2018-19. Top honors go to her 2021-22 GSU squad that started 29-0 on its way to 35-1 and an NCAA DII national title. A year ago, Caldwell’s Marshall team began the year 0-1 and 2-5 before reeling off a 24-2 record the rest of the way en route to 26-7 and a sweep of Sun Belt Conference titles. Other starts include 3-0 in 2016-17 and 2022-23, as well as 1-0 in 2020-21, 2019-20 and 2017-18.
ANOTHER 20-PLUS EFFORT FROM COOP: Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper carded her fifth double-digit season performance, including her fourth consecutive, dropping 22 points versus Florida State. The Turbeville, South Carolina, native’s other double-digit games came against Samford (19), MTSU (18), Liberty (33) and Western Carolina (20), now giving her three consecutive games of 20+ scoring. She is averaging 19.7 points per game through six contests.
ALL ABOUT THE BOARDS: Tennessee etched its second game with 50 or more rebounds, pulling down 50 vs. Florida State. The Lady Vols had 54 vs. UT Martin on Nov. 7. The Lady Vols grabbed 23 offensive rebounds vs. the Seminoles, marking their fourth game with 20 or more on that end of the court for the NCAA’s leader in o-boards per game at 23.5. Talaysia Cooper, Samara Spencer and Alyssa Latham led the Big Orange with seven caroms a piece.
Larry McBee is found guilty of shooting and killing a 23-year-old Halls Rural King employee in 2022.
Jury deliberations took less than an hour, and the jury returned a verdict convicting McBee of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Several witnesses spoke at the trial, including a neighbor, a Rural King shopper, and investigators.
According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, McBee shot and killed Tristan Smith after he was accused of trying to steal from the store.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Ethan Muza, a transfer from Baylor University, has signed with the Tennessee men’s tennis team, head coach Chris Woodruff announced Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh, Pa., native will join the squad for the 2025-26 campaign, and he will add a wealth of experience to a program that has reached the NCAA Quarterfinals three times in the last four years.
“We are excited to add Ethan to our squad for next fall,” said associate head coach Matt Lucas. “His competitive spirit, experience in the Big 12 and aspirations as a tennis player align with what we look for in student-athletes. We are looking forward to his arrival on Rocky Top next fall.”
Muza holds a 37-22 singles record and a 20-14 doubles mark for his career. In the 2023-24 campaign, he went 7-1 in dual singles thanks to a seven-match win streak to start the season, and he also tallied a perfect 4-0 ledger in doubles for the dual season.
For his career, Muza is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection.
With a career-high ITF ranking of No. 736, Muza was ranked as the No. 83 player in his class coming into college, according to TennisRecruiting.net. He carried an ITF Juniors ranking of No. 1068 and a junior UTR ranking of No. 68 before starting his Baylor career.
During his prep career, he played for club team Gomez Tennis Academy in Naples, sharpening his notable speed and defensive skills on the court.
He is the son of John and Shari Muza and also has two siblings, Mason and Colin, Muza played hockey in high school as well as tennis.
