BATON ROUGE, La. – A tough day from the field and 20-point outputs from Cam Thomas and Javonte Smart were too much for the No. 16 Tennessee basketball team to overcome Saturday, as it fell to LSU, 78-65, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Vols (14-5, 7-5 SEC) shot just 35 percent from the field, while the Tigers (13-6, 8-4 SEC) shot the ball at a highly efficient clip of 52 percent.
Freshman Jaden Springer led the Vols in scoring, finishing with 21 points and eclipsing the 20-point mark for the third consecutive game. Springer also concluded the afternoon with six rebounds and a season-high seven assists with just one turnover.
Classmate Keon Johnson finished with 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Sophomore Santiago Vescovi was the third Vol to score in double-figures, as he dropped in 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Fellow sophomore Olivier Nkamhoua was effective in seven minutes off the bench, scoring four points and pulling in three rebounds.
Yet again, sophomore guard Josiah-Jordan James was all over the stat sheet, recording nine points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
LSU controlled the majority of the opening half, using a 16-4 run through the middle portions of the period to build a lead as a large as 12.
Over the final five minutes, the Vols used a 10-3 run of their own to cut their deficit to five, as the Tigers took a slim, 31-26 lead into the break.
LSU continued to hold the edge as the contest reached its latter stages, taking a 59-49 lead into the final 7:44 of the afternoon.
The Tigers held off the Vols during the final stretches of the contest to cement the final score.
Up Next: Tennessee returns home for a showdown with South Carolina Tuesday. The opening tip from Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Opening day for No. RV/23/24 Tennessee softball has been rescheduled for Sunday, Feb. 14, with the Lady Vols now set to host Eastern Kentucky at noon ET, with the potential for a doubleheader if time permits, at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Fans will not be permitted to Sunday’s contest(s).
Broadcast Info
Brian Rice will call all of the action during the weekend on UTSports.com. No live stream will be available.
Updated Schedule
The Lady Vols were originally slated to play five games at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic in Conway, S.C., starting yesterday, but never got a chance to step on the field due to continuous rain. The tournament was ultimately canceled with inclement weather forecasted the remainder of the weekend.
Quick Hits The Shipman is Sailing
Junior catcher Ally Shipman has garnered significant recognition during the preseason, collecting a pair of preseason All-America honors (D1Softball and Softball America – both second team) and also ranking 13th among juniors in the nation by Softball America. The outlet also pegged Shipman the No. 37 overall player in the country. Shipman was off to a momentous start in 2020, after coming off of a season-ending injury suffered midway through her 2019 campaign. The Valencia, Calif., native co-led the Lady Vols with a .403 batting average, seven doubles and a pair of triples alongside redshirt-senior Chelsea Seggern. Shipman also added 16 RBIs and a pair of home runs after starting all 23 games last season.
Rogers Return
After missing the shortened 2020 season due to a short-term injury, Ashley Rogers returns to the circle as the Lady Vols ace. The junior was scheduled to make her first appearance during UT’s SEC opener at Texas A&M last season, but moments before the team got on the plane on March 12 the season was postponed and then ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Rogers’ play in the circle during her freshman year (2019), which earned her first-team NFCA All-Region and All-SEC honors, made a lasting impression and the Athens, Tenn., native found herself among the members of this season’s Preseason All-SEC Team along with Chelsea Seggern. She recorded a 1.94 ERA in her first collegiate season, finishing with a 21-7 win-los record that included seven shutouts.
A Score of Success
The 2021 season marks the 20th season that co-head coaches Ralph Weekly and Karen Weekly have managed the Lady Vol ball club. The NFCA Hall of Famers (Ralph was inducted in 2011, Karen was inducted in 2018) boast an overall record of 1,408-466-2 at Tennessee. In their time on Rocky Top, the program transformed into a national powerhouse, with 18 consecutive seasons in the top 25 polls. Since 2001, the Weekly’s have guided players to 36 All-America selections, 64 NFCA All-Region nods, five SEC Player of the Year honors, three SEC Pitcher of the Year titles, 60 All-SEC selections and a deluge of distinguished recognitions. Some of the sports’ most respected names once sported the Orange and White, including Olympian Monica Abbott, considered one of the greatest pitchers of all time, India Chiles, Ivy Renfroe, Rainey Gaffin, Madison Shipman, Sarah Fekete, Raven Chavanne and Aubrey Leach, to name a few. The Weekly’s, who also were co-heads at Chattanooga, have led the Lady Vols to seven WCWS appearances and were SEC Co-Coaches of the Year in 2004 and 2007.
Rhodes Back in Rocky Top
Tennessee fans will see a familiar face around the dugout this season with the return of former Lady Vol pitcher Megan Rhodes Smith as an assistant. Rhodes-Smith will manage the bullpen. A standout pitcher for UT from 2005-08, she spent her previous year as the head coach at Belmont in her hometown of Nashville. Prior to her time with the Bruins, Smith spent six seasons focusing on the development of pitchers and catchers at Lipscomb University, and served as the program’s associate head coach from 2018-19. With the Lady Vols, Smith, now a mom of two young girls, leads a talented group with a diverse skillset including Ashley Rogers (1.94 ERA, 21-7 win-loss record in 2019), Callie Turner (2.67 ERA, 8-7 W/L in 2020), Samantha Bender (2.68 ERA, 5-1 W/L in 2020), Anna Hazlewood and newcomer Bailey McCachren.
Scouting Report EKU 2020 record: 22-2, 0-0 OVC Series record: Lady Vols lead 10-0 Last outing: A 19th-ranked Tennessee run-ruled the Colonels 10-1 in five innings on April 4, 2017 in Knoxville. Key player/stat: The Colonels return their top offensive threat in redshirt junior Sammi Miller, a transfer from Virginia Tech. Miller appeared and started in all 24 games during the shortened season and recorded a team-high .427 batting average, eight doubles and three triples. She also posted a team-best five stolen bases to go with 13 RBIs and ranked in the top five of the OVC in hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, and total bases.
Blake Shelton music video for “Minimum Wage” is available to watch now!
Blake is no stranger to making music videos, but he does admit that the process to get this one done was a first, “We had a lot of COVID protocol in place for this video.”
Blake explains his vision for the “Minimum Wage” video, “I really felt like the video needed to be a live performance, so we had a few fans at Ole Red in Tishomingo. Of course, everyone had to be pre-tested and re-tested and temperature checks and social distance. I’m still amazed by the camerawork and how it looks like Ole Red is packed with people knowing there were just a handful of people actually on site.”
Blake shares that he also had a very special director for this project, “Gwen’s brother Todd captured exactly what I wanted to it to be.”
Watch Blake Shelton’s music video for “Minimum Wage” — directed by Todd Stefani, right here…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 16/19 Tennessee (12-4, 6-2 SEC) travels to College Station, where it will finally face off against No. 6/5 Texas A&M (18-1/9-1 SEC) on Sunday at 2:02 p.m. CT (3:02 p.m. ET) at Reed Arena.
This game originally was slated to be each team’s SEC opener on Dec. 31, but it was rescheduled to Feb. 6 after a positive COVID-19 test and contact tracing within the Lady Vol program caused the game to be postponed. Tennessee suffered a second pause due to COVID-19, so the meeting then was moved to Feb. 14 after UT’s previous match-up vs. Vanderbilt was canceled after the Commodores opted out of the season due to the pandemic.
Kellie Harper‘s squad also has had its game with Mississippi State reset to Feb. 16 in Starkville, meaning the Lady Vols will face three ranked teams, all on the road, during a six-day span from Feb. 11-16. Including a home game vs. No. 1/3 South Carolina next Thursday and a road game at No. 24/25 Georgia next Sunday, UT is in a challenging stretch of facing five ranked opponents in a span of 11 days, including four on the road.
UT stands in third place in the league standings and is one of only three SEC teams with two losses or fewer in conference play (along with first-place South Carolina (11-0) and second-place Texas A&M (9-1).
Tennessee enters Sunday’s contest on the heels of a 71-56 loss at No. 20/18 Kentucky on Thursday night. That setback, which came with all-star forward Renna Davis missing the game for medical reasons, ended a three-game winning streak that began with a UT home win over UK on Jan. 24.
Texas A&M should come in with fresh legs after being idle on Feb. 11. The Aggies’ opponent was supposed to be Vanderbilt before the Commodores opted out of the season due to COVID-19 and other factors.
After beating Arkansas, 69-67, in College Station on Feb. 7, A&M has won six straight entering Sunday’s tilt. Its only loss in 2020-21 came in Baton Rouge, where LSU handed Gary Blair’s squad a 65-61 setback in overtime on Jan. 14.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday’s game will be televised by ESPN with Courtney Lyle (PxP) and Carolyn Peck (Analyst) on the call.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) and the SEC Network will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
Institutions can produce for SEC Network+ (SECN+) any conference and non-conference games that are not otherwise televised. Those are available on the ESPN app and SECSports.com.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone behind the microphone. Now calling the action for his 22nd season, Dearstone is joined by studio host Bobby Rader.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on Vol Network Affiliates in the black bar at the top of the page.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
RESERVE LINK PINK/FIGHTER CUTOUTS NOW
The Lady Vols are hosting their annual Live Pink, Bleed Orange game on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. vs. South Carolina.
During the pandemic, it is understandable that many of those who are battling or have battled cancer are unable to attend the game. The Lady Vols want to continue to honor fighters, survivors, and remember those who fought to the end.
This year, fans can nominate a survivor or fighter to receive their very own “Fighter CutOut” for the Lady Vols’ Live Pink, Bleed Orange game.
Fighter CutOuts will be placed courtside with recognition during a timeout. One lucky nominee also will win a game-worn, pink Lady Vols jersey. CutOuts will be available for socially distant pick-up at a later date.
Tennessee remains in third place in the SEC standings with a 6-2 league record, holding a two-game lead over 7-4 squads Georgia and Kentucky.
Tennessee has posted three victories over ranked teams (No. 13/13 Arkansas, No. 15/15 Indiana, No. 12/12 Kentucky), marking the most by the program in a season since 2017-18 when it had seven.
UT also suffered setbacks to two squads ranked at the time it played them: No. 3/5 UConn (67-61) and No. 20/18 Kentucky (71-56), with Rennia Davis missing the UK game due to medical reasons.
Tennessee’s other two losses are to a pair of teams who are now ranked: No. 19/21 West Virginia (79-73 OT) and No. 24/25 Georgia (67-66).
With UT’s schedule offering a gauntlet of ranked teams in the coming 11 days, that slate currently ranks No. 13 on the NCAA’s Toughest Schedule report and will continue to rise in difficulty.
Due to injuries and illness, the Lady Vols have sent three different starting lineups out to the jump circle in their last three games vs. Ole Miss, Florida and Kentucky after having the same quintet in games five through 14.
Junior guard Rae Burrell is the only Lady Vol to start in every game this season.
UT is paced in scoring in all games by Burrell (17.2 ppg.) and senior forward Rennia Davis (14.5 ppg.), with sophomore center Tamari Key chipping in 9.4 ppg. and 5.1 rpg., and sophomore point guard Jordan Horston contributing 8.4 ppg. and 4.0 apg.
In SEC play, three Tennessee players are scoring in double figures, including Burrell (17.6), Davis (17.1 ppg.) and Key (12.6).
Against ranked foes, Burrell puts up 19.4 ppg., while Davis fires in 17.8 ppg.
Burrell tallied 22 points vs. Kentucky on Thursday night, marking her team-best eighth time leading UT in scoring in 2020-21 and fifth game this season with 20 or more points. It was the eighth 20+ game of her career.
Davis stands 16th on UT’s all-time scoring list with 1,617 points and also is 16th on the rebounding list with 869.
Tamari Key has blocked 16 shots in her last two games (10 vs. Florida, 6 vs. Kentucky) and has 43 for the season to rank second in the SEC at 2.7 per game. The sophomore has 129 in 47 career games and needs only two blocks to move into a tie for 10th on UT’s all-time career list.
Redshirt junior guard Jordan Walker, who stands 5-8, was the leading rebounder in the Kentucky game with a season-best nine boards. She has 373 for her career.
With 11 points vs. UK, Jordan Horston now has scored in double figures nine times this season.
Kasiyahna Kushkituah had eight rebounds vs. Kentucky, giving her 8+ boards in the past three games.
AILMENTS ADDING UP
UT was down three of its original starters and a senior reserve in the rematch vs. Kentucky on Feb. 11.
Starting center Keyen Green, of course, was lost four games into the year with a season-ending leg injury. Tamari Key stepped in.
Starting forward Marta Suárez missed the Florida game and played sparingly vs. Ole Miss and at Kentucky due to a lower leg injury. Kasiyahna Kushkituah stepped in.
Starting wing and returning All-SEC First Team selection Rennia Davis did not make the trip to Kentucky on Feb. 11 due to medical reasons. Jordan Walker, who started the first four games of the season, stepped back into the lineup vs. the Wildcats.
Reserve power forward Jaiden McCoy has missed the last 12 games due to a head injury.
RECAPPING UT’S LAST GAME
No. 16/19 Tennessee outscored Kentucky 21-9 in the third quarter to erase an 11-point halftime deficit but couldn’t hold off a No. 20/18 UK team that went a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the arc in the fourth quarter, falling 71-56 in Rupp Arena on Thursday night.
Junior Rae Burrell was the high scorer for the Lady Vols (12-4, 6-2 SEC), turning in 22 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Horston pitched in 11 points and three assists, and redshirt-junior Jordan Walker led the team in rebounding with nine boards.
UT played without all-star senior forward Rennia Davis, who did not make the trip to Lexington due to medical reasons.
Chasity Patterson had the hot hand for the Wildcats (14-5, 7-4 SEC) with 21 points, and Jazmine Massengill added 11.
UT-TEXAS A&M SERIES NOTES
Tennessee holds an 8-6 all-time record vs. Texas A&M, dating back to Dec. 19, 1997.
UT is 3-2 in Knoxville, 1-3 in College Station and 4-1 at neutral sites vs. the Aggies.
The Big Orange women are 6-6 vs. hall-of-fame coach Gary Blair and A&M since the Aggies joined the Southeastern Conference.
Kellie Harper is 0-2 vs. Texas A&M and Gary Blair. Her 2015-16 Missouri State team fell, 74-65, in College Station on March 19, 2016, in the NCAA Tournament First Round. UT suffered a two-point home loss (73-71) on Feb. 16, 2020.
A&M is 2-0 in overtime games vs. UT, defeating the Lady Vols in an extra frame in two of the past three times these squads met in College Station.
Rennia Davis has an 12.8 ppg. average vs. the Aggies in four career games, tallying 18 points, five rebounds, six assists and three blocks in last year’s meeting in Knoxville.
In the initial meeting between these teams in Knoxville, on Feb. 28, 2013, Tennessee defeated A&M, 82-72, on Senior Day to give UT an SEC regular-season championship on the Lady Vols’ home court. The squad had been picked to finish as low as fifth in the league and returned no starters.
Tennessee made its first-ever women’s basketball appearance in College Station on Jan. 26, 2014, and the (then) #11/12 Lady Vols picked up a key victory over the (then) #17/15 Aggies, 76-55. A&M was the SEC leader at the time of that defeat.
UT’s first two contests vs. Texas A&M came in tournaments, including one regular-season event in 1997-98 and one postseason event during the 2007-08 campaign.
In the first meeting, the #1/1 Lady Vols rolled to a 105-81 victory over the Aggies at the Northern Lights Invitational in Alaska in game two of a three-game stay.
The famed “Three Meeks” dazzled #8/9 A&M on Dec. 19, 1997, as Chamique Holdsclaw tallied 29, Semeka Randall tossed in 23 and Tamika Catchings added a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds for #1/1 UT in the high-scoring affair.
Kellie (Jolly) Harper was UT’s point guard in that game, and she was the Lady Vols’ fourth player in double figures with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers.
In 2008, Candace Parker scored 26 points and Alexis Hornbuckle chipped in 14, as the Lady Vols defeated Texas A&M, 53-45, in the Oklahoma City Regional Final to advance to the Final Four in Tampa.
After both of those tourney wins over the Aggies, the Lady Vols would advance to, and win, the NCAA Final Four in 1998 and 2008.
ABOUT TEXAS A&M
The Aggies feature a balanced attack, with Aaliyah Wilson (13.3 ppg.), N’dea Jones (12.6 ppg., 10.8 rpg.), Ciera Johnson (11.3 ppg.) and Kayla Wells (11.1 ppg.) scoring in double figures and starting all 19 games for head coach Gary Blair.
Jordan Nixon (8.4 ppg.) also started every contest.
The Aggies average 76.3 ppg. and hold foes to 59.8 ppg., shooting 48.2 percent from the field and allowing foes to hit only 38.2 percent.
RECAPPING THE AGGIES’ LAST GAME
Kayla Wells had a season-high 21 points and Jordan Nixon made a layup with eight seconds remaining to lift No. 7 Texas A&M to a 69-67 win over No. 16 Arkansas on Feb. 7 at Reed Arena.
A 3-pointer by Amber Ramirez tied it at 67-all with less than 90 seconds to go. Both teams missed a shot on their next possession before Nixon drove into the lane and put the Aggies up for good.
The victory came after the Aggies (18-1, 9-1 SEC) escaped with a 74-73 win in Fayetteville in the first meeting with Arkansas (14-7, 4-6) this season.
THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET
No. 25 Tennessee pulled to within two points in the final minute but couldn’t overcome a No. 16/18 Texas A&M team that went 28 of 33 from the free-throw line en route to a 73-71 victory in Thompson-Boling Arena on Feb. 16, 2020.
Sophomore Rae Burrell led UT (17-8, 7-5 SEC) with 19 points and seven rebounds in front of a season-best crowd of 12,738. Junior Rennia Davis was also in double figures for the Big Orange, posting 18 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Junior Chennedy Carter was the high scorer for Texas A&M (20-5, 8-4 SEC), finishing with 37 points and five rebounds. Carter was 14 of 16 from the charity stripe for the Aggies.
LAST TIME IN COLLEGE STATION
Tennessee outscored No. 21/22 Texas A&M 20-17 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overtake an Aggies team that scored 27 points on nearly 70-percent shooting in the third quarter to send the Lady Vols to a 79-62 setback in Reed Arena on Feb. 21, 2019.
Rennia Davis managed double digits, finishing the day with 10 points for UT (17-9, 6-7 SEC).
Kayla Wells led Texas A&M (20-6, 9-4 SEC) with 29 points. Chennedy Carter had 28 points, followed by Shambria Washington with 11.
WHAT’S NEXT
Tennessee will continue its three-game road swing and also begin a three-game week that features a rescheduled match-up at No. RV/25 Mississippi State (Tues., 4 CT/5 ET, ESPNU). The contest was originally slated for Feb. 4 and postponed due to COVID-19 protocol.
UT returns home to face No. 1/3 South Carolina on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET in the Lady Vols’ Live Pink, Bleed Orange game (SEC Network) and heads to Athens for a noon Sunday tilt with No. 24/25 Georgia (SEC Network).
Texas A&M, meanwhile, plays host to Missouri on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT (SECN+).
Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White announced four staff additions Friday, as Dr. Mónica Lebrón, Cameron Walker, Marcus Hilliard and Amy Sterk are joining his staff.
Lebrón and Walker hold Deputy AD titles and—along with Deputy AD for Finance & Operations/Chief Operating Officer Reid Sigmon—compose White’s executive leadership team.
“We’ve got a lot of very important work ahead of us as we chart a new course for Tennessee Athletics,” White said. “I’ve been thoughtful and strategic about each of these new additions to our staff, and I’m confident that their collective knowledge and experiences will boost our ability to operate with maximum efficiency. There are a lot of talented people and outstanding things happening here at Tennessee, while there are clearly some areas that need restoration. We’re going to modernize our approach and be forward thinking in our daily efforts to provide championship opportunities for our student-athletes, and these hires will help us build our bright future.”
Dr. Mónica Lebrón – Deputy AD for Championship Resources
Prior to her hiring at Tennessee, Lebrón (pronounced: luh-BRON) oversaw all internal and external day-to-day operations for Tulane athletics as deputy AD/chief operating officer dating to 2016. She also served as chief diversity officer for the Green Wave.
A native of San Jose, California, Lebrón was Tulane’s sport administrator for football, women’s basketball, beach volleyball and sailing. In addition to facilitating scheduling and budget management for those programs, she also directed revenue-generation efforts for Tulane’s comprehensive athletics program.
Lebrón’s time at Tulane was preceded by four years of senior-level experience in the Southeastern Conference. She worked as an assistant AD for development at Ole Miss in 2012 before being elevated to associate AD in 2014. She then transitioned to Georgia, where she served as associate AD for development. Under her direction, the UGA athletics development team raised a then-record $56.96 million for the 2016 fiscal year.
In addition to her time at Georgia and Ole Miss, Lebrón served as senior major gifts officer (2008-11) and senior associate director (2011-12) at Cal, where she fostered a portfolio of more than 500 donors. She also worked in various capacities at Florida with Gator Boosters, Inc., from 2004-08, working closely with UF’s athletics alumni base.
A 2001 Yale graduate, Lebrón was a four-year letterwinner and starter on the Bulldogs’ softball team. She then earned her master of Sports Administration and MBA from Ohio University in 2003.
Most recently, in the spring of 2019, she earned her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Tulane.
Cameron Walker – Deputy AD for Competitive Excellence
Walker worked closely alongside White at UCF—ultimately as executive associate AD for compliance—dating to May of 2016, and when White accepted the AD job at Tennessee, Walker accompanied him to Knoxville.
From his arrival at UCF until July 2018, Walker served in the role of senior associate athletics director before his promotion to executive associate AD. During his time in Orlando, Walker managed compliance and drug testing and was sport administrator for UCF’s men’s and women’s tennis teams. He also was the lead compliance contact for the football program. Walker served as a member of the athletics executive staff and was a member of the UCF Compliance and Ethics Advisory Committee as well as the athletics liaison to UCF Student Development and Enrollment Services.
Prior to his tenure at UCF, Walker served as associate athletic director at Utah Valley University, where his various roles included oversight of compliance, academic performance, student-athlete development and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Walker spearheaded several department-wide enhancements, including the addition of numerous staff positions, the renovation of the Wolverine Service Center, professional development programs and the implementation of several academic progress improvement plans. Resources for those items were secured through several NCAA SSF and AASP grants, which were written, implemented and overseen by Walker.
In his six years at Utah Valley, Walker also served in several leadership capacities on campus committees, including: Title IX deputy coordinator, student affairs senator for the Professional Association of Campus Employees and team lead for the Program Enrichment and Evaluative Review Team, which evaluated other departments and identified solutions to problems or inefficiencies.
As an adjunct professor at UVU, Walker taught courses including business law, contract drafting, legal research & writing, student leadership and student success.
Prior to his time at Utah Valley, Walker completed his Juris Doctorate degree at Arkansas, graduating cum laude.
A native of Rexburg, Idaho, Walker earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Southern Virginia in 2007.
He was a baseball student-athlete at Ricks College and Southern Virginia where, as a junior and senior, he was team captain and a two-time Academic All-American. Following his playing career, he was an assistant baseball coach at Southern Virginia from 2006-07.
Walker and his wife, Heather, have one daughter, Aleksandra, and three sons: Hudson, McCann and Jackson.
Marcus Hilliard – Associate AD/Chief of Staff
A Tennessee graduate, Hilliard comes to Tennessee after administrative tenures at Austin Peay and Central Florida.
From the fall of 2018 until his hiring at Tennessee, Hilliard served as senior associate AD for external affairs at Austin Peay, where he oversaw external operations that included communications, marketing and fan experience, branding and licensing, ticketing, video production, social media and the Govs Club. He was also sport administrator for the Governors baseball program as well as band and cheer and dance.
Hilliard also worked closely with APSU’s corporate sponsors and official apparel provider.
Beginning in 2016, Hilliard worked alongside White at UCF as director of constituent relations before his promotion to assistant AD for administration in the summer of 2017. White’s chief of staff, Hilliard also shouldered development and corporate sponsorship responsibilities for the Knights’ athletics department. During his time at UCF, Hilliard played an integral role in helping to achieve consecutive record-breaking years in fundraising, aided in part by the football program’s 13-0 finish in 2017 that was capped with a Peach Bowl triumph over Auburn.
Prior to his two years at UCF, Hilliard spent seven years at Duke, where he ultimately served as director of the Iron Dukes Varsity Club.
Hilliard’s father, David Cutcliffe, is the head football coach at Duke and previously served as a longtime assistant and offensive coordinator at Tennessee (1982-98) and head coach at Ole Miss (1998-2004).
A native of Oxford, Mississippi, Hilliard earned his bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from Tennessee in 2009 while also serving as a student equipment manager for the football program. He completed his master’s degree in Sport Management from NC State in 2015 and is a member of NACDA, NACMA and NAADD.
Amy Sterk – Assistant AD for Executive Operations
Sterk comes to Tennessee after working closely with White for nearly four years at Central Florida.
Hired as UCF’s assistant director of administration in March of 2017, she quickly earned a promotion to director of executive operations in August of 2018. In that role, she coordinated all day-to-day operations for White and his executive leadership team. She also executed special projects and assisted with strategic communication plans for the UCFAA Board of Directors, athletics staff and campus constituents.
Later this spring, Sterk will receive her MBA from UCF.
Prior to her time in Orlando, Sterk—whose father, Jim Sterk, is the director of athletics at Missouri—spent three years as a staff accountant with the San Diego Padres. The Pullman, Washington, native started her career in athletics administration by serving as a business intern at Gonzaga in 2013.
Sterk was a member of the Whitworth University women’s soccer team from 2010-13 and served as a captain during her senior year. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2014.
Brad Paisley appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week, where he chatted with Kelly and also performed his brand new song “Off Road.”
After Kelly asked Brad where’s the most unusual placed he’s performed, Brad shared that being from a small town, when word spread that he was a kid who could perform…it put him in high-demand all over, “I was the teenager that they needed to sing at anything from rotary club luncheons to lions club meetings to mother-daughter banquets, anything. I was the entertainment, but I got booked to sing for toddlers at the library one afternoon…and I don’t recommend that for anybody. You realize quickly that there isn’t any…unless you’re like Raffi or one of those people, that really cater to that…there’s nothing in your arsenal that will work. That is the test of all tests on a performer.” Brad added, “I think I got booed off the stage by, like, five-year-olds.”
Kelly also showed the clip of Brad getting asked to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Brad, along with Blake Shelton, hosts the NBC special, Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music, this Sunday, February 14th. Talking about the special Brad says, “It’s such a great piece of feel-good retrospective about country both it’s past and its future…and I’m thrilled that they’re doing this.”
Check out the conversation between Brad Paisley and Kelly Clarkson right here…
Brad Paisley’s new song “Off Road” makes its TV debut on The Kelly Clarkson Show
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In the absence of a traditional First Pitch Banquet this year, the Tennessee baseball program is set to host a virtual First Pitch Show on Monday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. ET.
The show will be hosted by the Voice of Tennessee Baseball, John Wilkerson, and will be streamed live on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Baseball Facebook page for anyone to watch.
Head coach Tony Vitello will give an update on the program while UT’s coaching staff will provide some in-depth information on the 2021 roster and what to expect this season. The show will also feature guest appearances from new Tennessee athletic director Danny White, as well as VFLs Garrett Crochet, Justin Ammons and Chris Burke.
The Vols begin their 2021 campaign on the road at Georgia Southern (Feb. 19-21) before opening their home slate with a pair of midweek games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24. The entire 2021 schedule can be seen HERE.
Season tickets for the 2021 season are officially sold out, but there are limited ticket options still available for non-conference games on the Porch and the new Deck area. For available dates, please contact Maggie Coates at 865-974-9579 or [email protected].
BATON ROUGE, La. – The 16th-ranked Tennessee basketball team hits the road for a third time in four games when it travels south to take on LSU on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff from the Pete Maravich Center is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Fans can catch Saturday’s action on ESPN and online or on any mobile device through WatchESPN. WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN App, or online at espn.com/watch. Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertlekamp describing the action.
Last time out, Tennessee took down SEC-foe Georgia, 89-81 on Wedneasday night. The Vols were led by an explosive 30-point performance from freshman Jaden Springer.
Freshman Keon Johnson finished the night with 11 points and stole the show with a Sportcenter-worthy dunk to spark UT in the second half
A victory on Saturday would snap the Vols two-game losing streak in Baton Rouge and preserve their winning record on the road.
Up next, the Orange & White return home for a mid-week encounter with South Carolina. Tuesday’s opening tip from Thompson-Boling Arena is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
THE SERIES
• Tennessee leads the all-time series with LSU, 65-48, dating to 1933.
• The series is tied, 26-26, when contested in Baton Rouge. The Vols had won five straight at the PMAC before falling in each of its last two visits.
• Last year’s LSU game in Knoxville was Santiago Vescovi’s college debut, and he made a splash with six 3-pointers.
• Fourth-year LSU head coach Will Wade is a Nashville native and graduate of Franklin Road Academy.
• Wade got his footing in the collegiate coaching ranks as a student manager at Clemson under former Rick Barnes assistant Larry Shyatt.
A WIN WOULD…
• Snap Tennessee’s two-game losing streak in Baton Rouge.
• Preserve UT’s winning record on the road this season.
LAYUP LINES
• Tennessee is No. 11 in the latest NCAA NET ratings, with four wins over teams in the top 35.
• Five-star freshmen Jaden Springer (26.5 ppg) Keon Johnson (19.0 ppg) have combined to average 45.5 points over Tennessee’s last two games—both wins. Johnson is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week.
• Over the last four games, sophomore Josiah-Jordan James is averaging 11.8 points, a team-best 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists while also shooting .455 (10-22) from 3-point range.
• Senior Yves Pons is a top-10 finalist for the Julius Erving Award and one of 15 candidates for Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year. Pons missed Wednesday’s game against Georgia with a right knee injury.
• In 111 seasons of varsity basketball, Tennessee has had only one letterman from the state of Louisiana: forward Maurice Robertson (New Orleans) in 1996.
DEFENSE WINS
• Tennessee ranks 10th in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing just 60.8 points per game.
• According to KenPom, the Vols ranks second in the NCAA in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing only 86.6 points per 100 possessions. College teams typically average close to 70 possessions per game.
• The Vols are forcing 16.1 turnovers per game while converting those turnovers into 17.4 points per game. Tennessee’s turnover margin stands at +4.2 (12th nationally).
• Tennessee has forced 14 of 18 opponents to turn the ball over on 20 percent or more of their possessions.
• Tennessee has allowed only three opposing player to score 20 points all season. See Page 3.
• Each of Tennessee’s last five opponents have shot 26 percent or worse from 3-point range.
ABOUT LSU
• As the 2020-21 season reaches its latter stages, the LSU Tigers are 12-6 overall and, like Tennessee, are 7-4 in the SEC entering Saturday’s contest. LSU has gotten a majority of its scoring production from its starting five, with four of its primary starters averaging more than 12 points per game. LSU’s fifth-leading scorer, Mwani Wilkinson, is averaging just 4.4 points per game.
• Through 18 games, the Tigers have been led by freshman standout Cam Thomas. Thomas’ 22.4 points per game leads the SEC. He has poured in 20-plus points 13 times and recorded a season-high 32 points in his first career SEC contest, when LSU took down Texas A&M, 77-54, on Dec. 29.
• In the frontcourt, forward Trendon Watford has been LSU’s stat-sheet stuffer, ranking second on the team in points (16.6 ppg), rebounds (6.9 rpg), assists (3.4 apg) and steals (1.3 spg). In the SEC, his numbers for scoring, rebounds and helpers rank sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively, making Watford one of the league’s most versatile and consistent players.
• Junior Javonte Smart has also had a knack for scoring this season, ranking third on the team and eighth in the SEC with 15.8 points per game. He also ranks fifth in the league in field-goal percentage and first in 3-point percentage, converting on 49 percent of his total attempts and 45 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point arc. Outside of getting his, Smart is also dishing out a team-leading 4.2 assists per game, which ranks fourth in the league.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the site of the only battle during the American Revolution that took place outside of the original 13 British colonies.
LAST MEETING WITH LSU
• Despite 18 points from Yves Pons and an impressive debut from freshman point guard Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee fell to LSU, 78-64, in its conference opener on Jan. 4, 2020, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• After arriving in the United States and joining the team just seven days prior (Dec. 28), Vescovi started and scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. Pons also had 18 points, one shy of his then-career-high.
• Josiah-Jordan James had a career-high 15 points.
• Tennessee made a season-high 13 3-pointers.
• LSU took a one-point lead into halftime and controlled the game out of the gates in the second half. The Tigers scored 21 points in the first eight minutes of the half to Tennessee’s 12, extending their lead to 59-49.
• Tennessee cut that lead to seven points, but never drew any closer the rest of the way. A trio of scorers—Javonte Smart (21), Skylar Mays (17) and Trendon Watford (15)—paced LSU in its win.
• After trailing for the majority of the opening 20 minutes, LSU regained the lead just before halftime and took a 38-37 advantage into the break.
• To start the game, the Tigers claimed a quick 7-2 lead, but Tennessee responded with a 18-4 run that put the Vols in front by nine. After making the start at point guard, Vescovi drained his first two shots—both from beyond the arc. John Fulkerson, making his first career SEC start, had two fast-break alley-oop dunks, while James had eight points during the run.
• In the first half as a whole, Tennessee shot 9-for-13 from 3-point range.
• James and Pons both reached double-figure scoring in the first half for the Vols with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Vescovi chipped in nine points behind three made 3-pointers. Jordan Bowden dished out six assists, all in the first 12 minutes of action.
MEMORABLE VOL PERFORMANCES AGAINST LSU
• Knoxville native Doug Roth blocked a school-record six shots vs. LSU on Jan. 11, 1989, lifting UT to a 100-96 win over the Tigers in Knoxville.
• Anthony Richardson went 14-for-14 from the free-throw line, the best charity-stripe performance in school history, at LSU on Jan. 12, 1985. But the Vols fell that day by a score of 75-65.
• Ron Widby set UT’s single-game scoring record, which stood for 20 years, against LSU on March 4, 1967, scoring 50 points on 19-of-39 shooting (both also single-game records) and 12-of-14 from the charity strip. UT won 87-60 in Knoxville.
LOUISIANA LETTERMEN RARE
• In 109 seasons of varsity basketball, Tennessee has had only one letterman from the state of Louisiana: forward Maurice Robertson (New Orleans) in 1996.
SPRINGER DROPS 30 ON GEORGIA
• Freshman guard Jaden Springer scored a season-high 30 points during Tennessee’s home win over Georgia on Feb. 10. That stands as the highest scoring output by a Vol this season.
• Springer became only the third Tennessee freshman to score 30 or more points in a game since 2005 and the first to do so since current Celtics forward Grant Williams scored 30 (also against Georgia) on Feb. 11, 2017.
ROAD WARRIORS
• Dating to the start of the 2017-18 season, Tennessee has won more than half of its true road games during SEC play, going 18-14 (.563).
• This season, the Vols have road wins at Missouri, Texas A&M and Kentucky.
SEC SCORING MARGIN IS NARROW
• If you exclude first-place Alabama, which is an extreme outlier (+13.6 ppg), only 1.5 points per game separate the next five SEC teams in scoring margin during league play. Tennessee ranks second.
