Lady Vols basketball forward Karoline Striplin has entered the transfer portal, she announced Friday.
Striplin is the first Lady Vol to put her name in the portal since new coach Kim Caldwell was hired April 7. Caldwell replaced Kellie Harper, who was fired after five seasons at UT.
“I am choosing to enter the transfer portal for my senior year to expand my horizons on and off the court,” Striplin wrote on Instagram.
The 6-foot-3 Striplin averaged 7.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 33 games with 11 starts. She shot 49.1% from the field and hit 31% of her 3-pointers. She averaged 14.4 minutes per game. Her best game was a 29-point effort with four 3-pointers in the Lady Vols’ loss to Middle Tennessee State.
The Opelika, Alabama, native started 28 of 33 games as a sophomore while center Tamari Key was sidelined with blood clots in her lungs.
Striplin’s departure leaves the Lady Vols with nine scholarship players on the roster going into the first season under Caldwell, who was hired after one season at Marshall.
Spear is the headliner. Guard Tess Darby opted to return for a fifth year. The pair is joined by a rising senior class of forward Jillian Hollingshead and guards Sara Puckett and Kaiya Wynn. Guard Destinee Wells is coming off a season-ending lower leg injury after the Belmont transfer was injured midway through her first season at UT.
Senior guard Jewel Spear announced Tuesday she is returning to the Lady Vols. Spear initially announced she would come back to UT the day before Harper was fired. She indicated she was considering remaining with the Lady Vols when Caldwell was introduced as the coach, then made that her final decision.
Spear led Tennessee with 69 3-pointers on 37.3% 3-point shooting last season. The Wake Forest transfer averaged 13.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
