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The Parkersburg native spent seven seasons as the Pioneers coach and helped the program to a Division II national title in 2022.

She left Glenville State in 2023 to become the coach at Marshall University, leading the Thundering Herd to a 26-7 record and appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Caldwell, after one season in Huntington, was named the coach of the Lady Volunteers on April 7, 2024. She helped lead Tennessee to a 24-10 record and the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI learned more this year than I have probably learned in my last 10 years combined because of such a big learning curve,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Caldwell said to the Gazette-Mail. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI feel like IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve gotten a lot better as a coach. I learned a lot from last year. There are a lot of things we need to fix going into year two and ways to adjust. It was a great opportunity when your first Power 4 job is Tennessee.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

The Lady Vols picked up quality victories in CaldwellÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s first year in Knoxville, including a 80-76 win over No. 5 UConn on Feb. 6.

The four-point win over the Huskies ended a four-game skid Tennessee had against UConn and it was the first win over the Huskies since 2007.

TennesseeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s appearance in the NCAA Tournament marked the fifth consecutive trip to the Big Dance.

CaldwellÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 24 wins in her first year marked the second most wins by a first-year coach, which were three shy of Holly WarwickÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 27 wins.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s definitely something IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m still wrapping my head around,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Caldwell said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œFor the first calendar year, I really couldnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t quite grasp it, what this job meant and the role I now play in womenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s sports. YouÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re just trying to put your head down and work as hard as you possibly can and make a lot of people proud, while proving a lot of people wrong. It is such a blessing to be at the best basketball school in the country.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a lot of responsibility that comes with that. You have to stay true to who you are and be a very authentic version of yourself then do things the right way the best way you know how.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYouÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re representing Pat [Summit, legendary Tennessee womenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s coach], the coaches that coached here before me and all of our alumni,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Caldwell continued. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYouÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re trying to represent them in the best possibly light.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Caldwell replaced Kellie Harper before the 2024-25 season. Harper coached five seasons in Knoxville before Caldwell stepped in.

The Parkersburg native has posted eight seasons of 20 or more wins, with half those seasons being 30 or more wins.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œFrom the beginning, our goal has been to find a dynamic head coach who can restore our womenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s basketball program to national prominence. Kim Caldwell is the ideal person to lead us,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Tennessee vice chancellor and director of athletics Danny White said in a statement in 2024. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œKim has a winning formula that she has successfully implemented everywhere she has coached, with a fast-paced, high-octane offense and pressure defense that has led to remarkable results.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIn this new era of college sports, it was vital that we found an innovative head coach with a strong track record of winning titles. We are eager to return the Lady Vols to a championship level, and weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re confident that Kim Caldwell is the coach who can lead us back to the top.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Tennessee ranked third nationally in scoring offense, averaging 86.6 points per game. UT also sat third nationally in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 16.9 per game.

There were eight instances last year where the Lady Vols scored over 100 points.

Tennessee finished second in the country in made three pointers per game, making 10.1 per game.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m very thankful for the team we had,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Caldwell said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe had a team that bought in and played hard. We shot the ball pretty well once we got our feet under us. The biggest thing was we had a group of players that believed in me and believed in what we do. They really set the foundation for every class thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s going to come after them.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

There was certainly an adjustment phase for Caldwell and the others associated with the team last year.

The Vols coach was proud at how the team came together in her first year.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt starts with education,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Caldwell said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt starts with teaching what we want and why we want it. We do it that way it makes sense to them. Then, itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s developing relationships with them and letting them know how you see them fit. From there, itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s repping it hard every day. We had a great group. We had a group that was willing to do it, and they were not all recruited by me.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Caldwell played her high school basketball career at Parkersburg South for her dad.

The former Patriot spent four seasons of college basketball playing at Glenville State, leading the Pioneers to the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 2011.

Glenville State was also the first place Caldwell got her first crack at being a head coach. She went 191-24 overall and 132-12 in conference play in her six seasons at Glenville State. Caldwell led the Pioneers to appearances in the NCAA Tournament all six seasons.

Her roots in West Virginia still run deep across the Mountain State. Those roots are still ones that she often calls back to, especially now being in Knoxville.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think about West Virginia every day,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Caldwell said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m very thankful for Glenville. My experiences as a player, assistant and head coach there. Those were some of the best times of my life. I truly do miss it. I loved my short time in Huntington. I thought that Huntington was going to be a place that I finished my career and it was going to be forever.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe were incredibly happy. We had a great quality of life. I really did love where we were at that pace, but God obviously had different plans and Tennessee was a job I couldnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t turn down.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�