Kim Caldwell fumbled an easy win in a rough year for Tennessee

It was only a year ago Kim Caldwell seemed like the hottest name in women’s college basketball.

In her first season at Tennessee, she led the preseason unranked Lady Vols to a top-15 spot in the AP poll and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament. The future was bright in Knoxville.

Now, it seems like Caldwell can’t get anything right.

Under her stewardship, Tennessee has nosedived since a 14-3 start to the year, losing nine of its last 11 games to close the regular season, including six straight losses ahead of the SEC tournament. All that losing is wearing thin on everyone involved with the program, including Caldwell.

After a program-worst 43-point loss to South Carolina on Feb. 8, Caldwell called out her team for being quitters. Two weeks later, her frustrations remained apparent after another loss when she sped past Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin in the handshake line. Then, there have been public criticisms by ex-Tennessee players, including ESPN analyst Andraya Carter, who called out Caldwell for the quitting accusations.

At the time, Caldwell still at least had one of the greatest Lady Vols on her side, Candace Parker, who said she didn't agree with past players publicly criticizing the program. But even Parker will have a hard time defending what happened to fifth-year senior Kaiya Wynn.

Wynn announced Tuesday she's leaving the program ahead of the conference tournament after being snubbed for playing time on senior night Sunday against Vanderbilt. Wynn had only played in eight games this year after missing all of last season with an Achilles injury but said she was hoping to get her first career start in her last game at home. Instead, Caldwell didn't sub Wynn into the game until there was 15 seconds left of a 10-point loss.

"Although that was not the sole reason, it was the breaking point for me," Wynn said on social media.

Considering Tennessee's skid, and Caldwell desperation, it's not surprising the coach didn't want to force playing time to someone who she didn't think could help them win. But would an honorary start for a local player who's been with the program since 2021 have hurt that much? Especially in what's already a lost season. It might not have helped on the scoreboard, but it could have given Caldwell an easy win in the locker room, which she seems to desperately need as much as anything. Instead, she took two losses.

Maybe Caldwell is right. Maybe her team has been quitting. But it might say more about her than them. Things like this show she's probably the reason why.

Aaron Judge's ho-hum WBC speech

In honor of the World Baseball Classic getting underway tonight, here's Aaron Judge with a message to get you pumped... or not. The Yankees star actually got roasted online for what many fans found to be an uninspiring speech:

Captain America 🫡

Aaron Judge makes a speech to Team USA ahead of the #WorldBaseballClassic 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xeaiiAgRxF— MLB (@MLB) March 2, 2026

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• While some players continue to rail against the Atlanta Hawks' upcoming Magic City promotion, a wild stat about the Hawks just surfaced that will leave you disbelief.

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kim Caldwell fumbled an easy win in a rough year for Tennessee