Softball fans can get their first look at the Lady Vols’ 2025 team this weekend with the start of fall ball, a series of exhibition games that are free to attend. Before the doubleheader, two former softball stars also will sign autographs.
While downpours and thunderstorms washed out two games this week, the rain should recede a bit by this Saturday, September 28, 2024, and a doubleheader has been set against Georgia Tech at 11 a.m. and Lipscomb at 4 p.m. at Lee Stadium.
Former Tennessee superstars and Torchbearer honorees Kiki Milloy and Rylie West – the first pair of teammates to both earn the university’s highest academic honor – will sign autographs at 10 a.m. before the first game as part of an event arranged by the Lady Vols Boost HER Club.
Fall ball was supposed to start earlier this week at Lee Stadium, but Wednesday’s game against Carson-Newman was postponed to Oct. 16. Walters State was supposed to be in town two days after that today, but that game was postponed to this Sunday, Sept. 29, at 11 a.m.
Tennessee also is scheduled to host Kentucky on Oct. 5, Tusculum on Oct. 11 and King on Oct. 13. The Lady Vols will travel to Kentucky on Oct. 20 to close fall ball.
Parking is always free, and fans can pick their seats. While restrooms will be open, concession stands will be closed, so pack your own food and drinks. The games and the stats don’t count, but the matchups give both teams the chance to see live action outside of practice.
Tennessee won back-to-back SEC regular season titles in 2023 and 2024 with the considerable contributions of West and Milloy, who locked down left and center field defensively and sprayed balls all over place offensively, including out of the park.
The 2025 team has ace Karlyn Pickens in the circle, key contributors from last season and a slate of newcomers, including a highly ranked recruiting class. The 2023 team made the Women’s College World Series, while the 2024 team came up short. The 2025 squad will have their sights set on another orange trip to Oklahoma.
Fall ball also means games and matches that count for several Lady Vols teams, including volleyball, soccer, cross country, golf and tennis.
The soccer team was supposed to play at Florida this week, but the path of Hurricane Helene nixed those plans. Tennessee is set to host Vanderbilt this Sunday, Sept. 29, at 4 p.m. at Regal Soccer Stadium.
The Lady Vols are 6-1-2 overall with an impressive 1-0 win over No. 7 Memphis this month. Tennessee opened SEC play with a win over Ole Miss in Knoxville and a 2-2 tie at Alabama.
A trio of Tennessee players celebrate at Ole Miss in SEC play. (UT Athletics)
Volleyball opened conference play by hosting Alabama on Wednesday and earned a tough five-set win to start 1-0 in the SEC. The Lady Vols got a tough start to conference play following the home match with four consecutive upcoming road contests at Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri before Kentucky comes to Knoxville on Oct. 16.
Basketball is classified as a winter sport, but official practice started this week for new head coach Kim Caldwell and her team. That means at least two hours on the court at each practice rather than the shorter sessions mandated by the NCAA in preseason workouts. Tennessee posted a clip of practice on social media.
Eight seniors participated in what players call “the last first day of practice” with returnees Tess Darby, Jillian Hollingshead, Sara Puckett, Jewel Spear, Destinee Wells and Kaiya Wynn and transfers Favor Ayodele and Samara Spencer all seniors this year.
The schedule has been released HERE, so start making plans to see a new staff, some familiar faces and new players.
Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press.