Tennessee guard Jaida Civil announced Monday that she's entering the transfer portal, and Oliviyah Edwards, the No. 2 recruit in the SC Next 100 class of 2026, has requested a release from her national letter of intent with the Lady Volunteers, leaving the program with just one player on the roster for next season.
The announcements add to the significant uncertainty surrounding the storied program, which went 16-14 this season under second-year coach Kim Caldwell. Every player with remaining eligibility has entered the transfer portal -- including all of the highly touted, second-ranked freshmen class. Seniors Janiah Barker and Zee Spearman will also be graduating, leaving the Lady Vols with just No. 62 wing Gabby Minus set to arrive for next season.
A top-10 preseason team in the Associated Press poll, the Lady Volunteers ended the season on an eight-game losing streak, their longest in the modern era. They also lost by 30 points to UConn in February, the largest margin of victory for either team in the series between the two programs and the second-worst loss in Tennessee's history. Overall, the team lost seven games by at least 15 points, the most in 40 years. The Lady Vols were a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament but lost to NC State 76-61 in the first round. It was just the third time since 1982 that they failed to win a first-round matchup.
Civil, a freshman from Vero Beach, Florida, played seven minutes in that loss to the Wolfpack on March 20. For the season, she averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds. She made her announcement in an Instagram post.
Edwards, a 6-foot-3 forward from Washington, originally signed with Caldwell's program in November over offers from USC, South Carolina, LSU, Florida and Washington. At the time, Edwards, named a McDonald's All-American this season, was the highest-ranked recruit to sign under Caldwell and Tennessee's top signee since then-No. 2 Jordan Horston in 2019.
"As a family, we are so thankful to the University of Tennessee for the time that was spent recruiting Oliviyah," Jordan West, Edwards' mother, told ESPN. "At this time, with all the current changes to the women's basketball team, I believe it's in my daughter's best interest to part ways and reopen her recruitment."
Prior to Edwards' decision, Tennessee had the nation's No. 10 recruiting class. It will now drop out of the top 25 completely. Caldwell figures to be active in the transfer portal as she tries to build her third roster in Knoxville.
Edwards is the second five-star recruit to hit the open market over the past week. Trinity Jones, the No. 11 recruit in the class of 2026, was released from her letter of intent with Clemson earlier.
