Another domino has fallen in Tennessee women’s basketball, with starting guard Talaysia Cooper announcing Thursday that she is entering the transfer portal. Cooper becomes the seventh Lady Vol to enter the portal, which officially opens on Monday after the conclusion of the women’s NCAA tournament.
In a statement posted on Instagram, Cooper thanked the school, her coaches, and teammates, before announcing that she will be entering the portal. The junior guard has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining.
“Being a Lady Vol has meant more to me than I can fully put into words,” Cooper said. “After a lot of thought and prayer, I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal to continue my journey. This decision wasn’t easy at all, but I’m trusting what’s best for me moving forward.”
Cooper is the latest player to exit a Tennessee program coming off a messy, disappointing season, in the second year under head coach Kim Caldwell.
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Following the Vols’ first-round loss in the NCAA tournament, six other players reportedly or officially plan to enter the portal: freshman twins Mia and Mya Pauldo, senior Alyssa Latham, redshirt sophomore Kaniya Boyd and freshman guards Deniya Prawl and Lauren Hurst. Latham has reportedly already committed to Virginia Tech as a grad transfer.
In addition to the slew of transfers, four of Caldwell’s players — Zee Spearman, Janiah Barker, Nya Robertson and Jersey Wolfenbarger — are graduating seniors. As a result, freshman guard Jaida Civil is the only Lady Vol set to return to the team next year.
The Lady Vols lost eight straight games to end the season, including an upset loss to Alabama in the first round of the SEC tournament, followed by the March Madness loss to NC State. In the middle of that losing streak, senior guard Kaiya Wynn left the team after not starting on Senior Day, saying in a statement that she had reached her “breaking point.”
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The season had also started on a sour note, with Caldwell dismissing Ruby Whitehorn from the team in November after the senior was arrested for marijuana possession.
Cooper, who led Tennessee in scoring this season with an average of 16 points per game, spent the fourth quarter of the Alabama loss on the bench, and did not speak to reporters after the game. Caldwell later said that Cooper didn’t play the end of the game to give the junior “some air.”
Cooper will now join a tranfer portal that is already bustling ahead of the official portal period starting next week. Iowa State star center Audi Crooks is reportedly entering the portal, as the Cyclones experience a similar mass exodus.
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