“Lady Vols has a fantastic starting players and a strong bench as well,some are even claiming that puckett, Wynn and Po..

The Lady Vols have excellent starting players in addition to a deep bench.

Although Kellie Harper has had success using the transfer portal during her time with the Lady Vols, it’s no secret that there hasn’t been much high school recruiting in recent years.

On Wednesday, at the Big Orange Tipoff Club, a fan was curious as to why.

“I refuse to label you the Lane Kiffin of women’s basketball—you signed zero high school recruits last year, and you only recruited one this year,” the supporter jeered.

With a hint of irony, Harper thanked the assembly, evoking laughs from the assembled people. Known for signing more impact players through the transfer portal than almost any other coach in the nation, Kiffin was the head coach of Tennessee’s football team before taking his current position at Ole Miss.

The enthusiast concluded his inquiry by inquiring about Harper’s stance on signing high school prospects.

Harper stated, “We want to sign recruits from high school.” “A few years ago, we implemented a strategy in which we significantly reduced the amount of high school recruits that we hired. The transfer portal allowed us to significantly limit that list down. We had great success using the site to attract some very talented players.”

Rickea Jackson, who has led the team in scoring throughout her two seasons at Tennessee, was one of those players. This season, Jackson has averaged 19 points and 8.9 rebounds, which leads the Lady Vols.

But Harper insisted that they must begin recruiting high school students. In the last three recruiting cycles, she has only signed two high school athletes.

Harper declared, “There’s no denying that we need more high school players.”

However, she also highlighted the decisions that need to be made. Harper stated that “it’s worth the discussion” if there is a “average high school athlete” who has the potential to be a terrific college player versus an established college player with two years of experience in the same position.

However, we are aware that those four-year players will be the culture players in our program. They simply are, therefore I believe it’s critical that we bring guys in.”

Tennessee’s lone 2024 recruit, guard Kaniya Boyd, a four-star prospect, signed early during winter break, though she won’t play until the following season. Talaysia Cooper, a transfer guard from South Carolina, has three more seasons of eligibility remaining after this one.

Due to the pandemic, players will only be able to use their additional year of eligibility during the next season. Tess Darby, Jewel Spear, and Destinee Wells—all senior guards—have the choice to come back the next season. Due to her medical redshirting during the previous season, senior redshirt Tamari Key is still eligible for an extra season.

But Jackson and Jasmine Powell will be out of eligibility after this season. The four players with COVID years and all of this season’s juniors will be out of eligibility the season after that. That leaves three scholarship players and however many players Tennessee brings in out of the transfer portal the next two offseasons.

Rosters are fluid and Harper did not say how many players they want to sign in the 2025 class, but they will identify numbers based on their needs.

Because you’re reevaluating your needs throughout the year, you have to reevaluate it every spring, according to Harper. “There is still one more year for COVID players, meaning that five-year players will be eligible for one more year. We want to sign a really excellent, strong class in the ’25 class, and we’re looking into our 25s. However, it is evident that certain needs vary and adapt throughout the year.”

Cora Hall writes about women’s athletics at the University of Tennessee. Cora.hall@knoxnews.com is her email address. You can follow her on Twitter at @corahalll. If you like Cora’s coverage, you should think about getting a digital subscription that gives you access to everything.