KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee softball team will hold a home run derby on Friday, Nov. 8 at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium and honor one of its “Legends of the Game” Lauren Gibson as a part of its homecoming festivities.
The event is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. ET and will be open to the public free of charge. The derby will be contested over three rounds, featuring a field of 15 players. Seven Lady Vol alumni will also participate in a two-round home run derby.
Gibson – a three-time first-team All-American and the 2013 SEC Player of the Year – will be honored between the team and alumni home run derby. A native of Pasadena, Maryland, Gibson arrived on Rocky Top in the fall of 2009. Over the next four seasons, she established herself as one of the program’s all-time greats.
She played a pivotal role in leading the Lady Vols to the 2013 Women’s College World Series, earning a spot on the WCWS All-Tournament Team.
Throughout her collegiate career, she showcased her skills as a second baseman – posting an impressive .401 batting average during her senior year along with 19 home runs and 68 RBIs that earned her SEC Player of the Year.
Her achievements extend beyond college, as she has represented the United States on the international stage, claiming gold medals at the World Cup of Softball and the Pan American Games, where she recorded an outstanding .529 batting average. With numerous accolades, including NFCA First Team All-American honors and multiple selections to All-SEC teams, Gibson has solidified her legacy as a Lady Vol great.
Gates will open one hour before first pitch. Restrooms will be open, but concessions will not be available for fall softball events. Fans will be allowed to bring in their own food and non-alcoholic beverages.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tennessee defensive back Will Brooks was named a 2024 Burlsworth Trophy nominee on Tuesday afternoon.
The trophy is in its 15th year of existence and is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, former University of Arkansas walk-on and All-American offensive lineman. It is awarded to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field.
Brooks, a redshirt senior who has spent his entire collegiate career at UT, is in the midst of a breakout season. He has started all eight games at safety this year while leading the Vols with three interceptions and ranking second on the team with 37 tackles. His seven passes defended also rank second on the team.
Brooks’ coverage grade of 84.8 according to PFF is the fifth highest in the SEC and tied for 18th best in the FBS among safeties with at least 150 coverage snaps.
The Alabama native recorded interceptions in back-to-back SEC games against No. 7 Alabama and Kentucky after returning his first-career interception 85 yards for a touchdown in a win over NC State earlier this season. His pick against the Crimson Tide on their final offensive play sealed the victory for Tennessee in its Third Saturday in October rivalry game. Brooks leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation with 152 interception return yards this season.
The list of 78 candidates will be narrowed down as the semifinalists are slated to be announced on Nov. 12 before three finalists will be named on Nov. 19.
The Burlsworth Trophy Award Show to honor the three finalists and announce the 2024 winner will be held on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.
For more information about the Burlsworth Trophy and this year’s nominees, click HERE.
A registered sex offender is taken into custody after entering an elementary school.
Anderson County Schools officials say a person on the registry entered Lake City Elementary School on Friday.
Security protocols, including a mandatory background check for all visitors, the school district said, immediately flagged the person and police responded.
“Thanks to the swift, professional response from both the Rocky Top Police Department and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the individual was safely taken into custody without incident, underscoring the dedication of all involved to keeping our schools safe,” ACS said.
District officials say no students, staff or faculty members were at risk.
“We are truly blessed to live in a community where our law enforcement partners work hand-in-hand with our schools to ensure the highest level of safety and security for our children and employees,” the district said.
Nashville, TN (WOKI) The dust from the election still settling, two of Tennessee’s top lawmakers are pushing forward another bill aimed at establishing a private school voucher program in the state.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth Wednesday introduced the Education Freedom Act of 2025.
The numbers in this latest proposal are largely the same as the measure which failed last session: the bill promises 20,000 $7,000 scholarships to students who attend a private school in Tennessee, awarded based (mostly) on their family’s income.
Under the bill, 10,000 scholarships would go first to families who make less than 300% of the amount required by the state for a student to qualify for free or reduced lunch. The remaining half of the scholarships would go to any student who qualifies, regardless of income.
Among the changes this time around is language claiming that public school funding wouldn’t be affected by the voucher program and state testing for private school students who get a scholarship.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth attached themselves to the bill, introducing it as the Education Freedom Act of 2025.
PHILADELPHIA – Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been named a semifinalist for the 2024 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Wednesday.
The Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award is an honor given each year to the most outstanding freshman player in college football. Named after Shaun Alexander since 2018, this award recognizes the exceptional performance and impact made by these players on their respective teams throughout the season.
Iamaleava is one of 14 semifinalists for this year’s award, which includes just three quarterbacks and five players from the Southeastern Conference. He is the first Vol to be named a semifinalist.
A redshirt freshman from Long Beach, California, Iamaleava has quickly established himself as one of the top freshmen in the country. He has led Tennessee to a 7-1 record, including five home victories, a road win at then-No. 15/13 Oklahoma, and a neutral-site victory in the Duke’s Mayo Classic. Three of UT’s wins this season have come against ranked opponents at the time of the meeting, including victories over No. 24 NC State, at No. 15/13 Oklahoma and No. 7 Alabama.
His impressive performance this season has helped him stand out among his peers. He has already been named SEC Freshman of the Week three times, matching the school record set by Tyler Bray in 2010. Iamaleava’s accolades include a record-setting performance in his first home start, when he threw for 314 yards in the first half against Chattanooga, setting a Tennessee record for most passing yards in a half.
The signal-caller has continued to grow throughout the season with his best pure passing game of his young career coming in his most recent outing against Kentucky. He finished with career highs in completions (28) and attempts (38) for 292 yards and a touchdown.
The full list of semifinalists for this year’s award can be seen HERE.
Finalists for the 7th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award will be revealed on Dec. 4 and the winner of the award will be announced on Dec. 26. The formal presentation of this award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Friday, March 14, 2025 at the College Football Hall of Fame.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Riding a 7-1 start to the season, Tennessee football is ranked No. 7 in the initial College Football Playoff Selection Committee rankings that were announced on Tuesday night.
The Volunteers were the fifth-highest ranked one-loss team and the third-highest ranked SEC team. A nation-best eight SEC programs were ranked in the first Top 25.
Tennessee owns a 24-17 victory over current-No. 11 Alabama and will face No. 2 Georgia in Athens on Nov. 16. The Vols are one of four top 10 teams with at least one win over the current top 12, joining Oregon (No. 3 Ohio State, No. 12 Boise State); Georgia (No. 5 Texas) and Ohio State (No. 6 Penn State).
The Vols boast a defense that has yet to allow an opponent to reach the 20-point mark in eight games this season. It’s the first time UT has done that since 1966, and the Vols are just the fifth SEC program to achieve that feat since 2000. They complement a stout defense with the SEC’s No. 1 rushing offense for the second straight year that puts up 234.5 yards per game on the ground led by the SEC’s leading rusher Dylan Sampson (122.5 ypg).
Tennessee has been ranked in now 13 straight CFP rankings dating back to Nov. 1, 2022.
The Vols play their final SEC regular season home game of the year on Homecoming Saturday against Mississippi State. Kickoff from a sold-out Neyland Stadium is 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
College Football Playoff Rankings (Nov. 5) 1. Oregon (9-0) 2. Georgia (7-1) 3. Ohio State (7-1) 4. Miami (9-0) 5. Texas (7-1) 6. Penn State (7-1) 7. Tennessee (7-1) 8. Indiana (9-0) 9. BYU (8-0) 10. Notre Dame (7-1) 11. Alabama (6-2) 12. Boise State (7-1) 13. SMU (8-1) 14. Texas A&M (7-2) 15. LSU (6-2) 16. Ole Miss (7-2) 17. Iowa State (7-1) 18. Pittsburgh (7-1) 19. Kansas State (7-2) 20. Colorado (6-2) 21. Washington State (7-1) 22. Louisville (6-3) 23. Clemson (6-2) 24. Missouri (6-2) 25. Army (8-0)
Multiple media outlets calling the Presidential race – President Trump has reached 277 electoral votes, enough to win the presidency once again becoming the 47th president-elect.
Marsha Blackburn keeps her Senate seat beating Knoxville’s Gloria Johnson who will keep her current State House District 90 seat.
Tim Burchett retains his United States House of Representatives District 2 seat with 69% of the vote beating Jane George.
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | November 05, 2024
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee women’s basketball team eclipsed the century mark in a season opener for just the sixth time in its illustrious history, cruising to a 101-53 victory over Samford Tuesday night in Kim Caldwell‘s debut as Lady Vol head coach.
With a crowd of 9,515 looking on at Food City Center, five Big Orange players scored in double figures to lead the charge. Junior forward Zee Spearman racked up 15 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a career-high 25 to chart the second-highest total ever by a Lady Vol in her debut game. Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper was next for Tennessee (1-0) with 19, followed by fifth-year guard Jewel Spear with 18, senior guard Samara Spencer with 12 and junior guard Ruby Whitehorn with 10. Spear drained four threes to aid her cause and help the home team card 10 long balls for the game.
Samford (0-1) was paced by four in double figures, with Claire Johnson tossing in 13, Emily Bowman and Kennedy Langham 12 each, and Annie Ramil 11. The Bulldogs, who were held to 35.7 percent field goal percentage and 15 percent (3-20) beyond the arc, committed 37 turnovers that led to 50 Lady Vol points on the night.
SU grabbed early 3-2 and 7-5 edges before the Lady Vols seized the lead for good with a 10-0 run. Cooper fueled the spree, pushing her point total to seven and giving UT a 15-7 advantage heading into the 5:03 media timeout with back-to-back layups. The teams exchanged scores over the final five minutes of the opening stanza, with Whitehorn converting a layup off an inbounds pass from Spencer to send the home team into the second quarter with its largest lead at 26-17.
The Lady Vols opened the second period with an 11-0 surge, extending an active run to 14 to take a 37-17 lead into the 4:58 media timeout on a Spear three. Tennessee stymied the Bulldogs into 0-for-5 shooting to keep the visitors scoreless during that span. Coming out of the timeout, UT tallied the next seven points to extend its scoring streak to 21, building a 44-17 lead on a Whitehorn bucket with 3:47 left in the half. A Spear trey with 21 seconds remaining sent the Big Orange into the intermission leading 49-26.
Tennessee burst out of the locker room with an 8-0 gush that extended a run from the second quarter to 13-0. Cooper was good for six points during that blitz, and a Kaniya Boyd layup forced Samford to take a timeout with 5:58 to go in the frame with UT up by its largest margin, 61-28. Spearman and Spear helped Tennessee end the quarter with a 78-42 lead, as Spearman scored six straight and Spear knocked down a trey before the buzzer sounded.
The fourth quarter was all Spearman, as she accounted for all but eight of the Lady Vols’ 23 points in the frame. She finished six of seven from the field, including several layups and a transition three-pointer that pushed the gap to 94-48 with 3:26 left. Her bucket from long range was part of a 19-2 advantage in points off turnovers in the period, with UT grabbing nine steals and forcing 12 Samford miscues.
NEXT UP: The Lady Vols are back in action on Thursday, as they welcome UT Martin to Food City Center. The contest is slated for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff with coverage on SECN+.
TOO EAS-ZEE: Junior Zee Spearman excelled in the season opener, scoring a career-high 25 points and adding a career-high-tying two steals along with six rebounds. Spearman also hit a career-high 10 of 12 field goals and sank ten free throws. The Dacula, Georgia, native’s point total was the second-best ever by a Lady Vol in her debut game, and she became the fourth transfer in Lady Vol history and 10th player overall including freshmen, to score 20 or more points in her first UT contest. Trish Roberts’ 51 points vs. Kentucky on Nov. 13, 1976, stands as the top total in a Big Orange debut.
THE CALDWELL EFFECT: Tennessee’s aggressive defense sparked 27 steals, which tied for the No. 3 mark in Lady Vol history. That effort led to 37 Samford turnovers, which marked the most miscues by an opponent since Presbyterian had 39 on Nov. 11, 2018, in that season’s opener.
HITTING 100: Tennessee’s point total of 101 marked the sixth time in school history that the Lady Vols have scored 100 or more points in a season opener. The 101 points rank fifth all-time for the first contest of the year.
LADY VOLS IN OPENERS: During the modern era (1974-present), the Lady Vols are 46-5 all-time in season openers over the past 51 years, including 30-3 at home, 8-2 on the road and 8-0 at neutral sites. Tennessee possesses a 48-3 all-time record in its first home contest of the year through 2024-25. The Lady Vols have won 25 straight times in their first appearance of the season at Food City Center and have been victorious in that case in 42 of their past 43 campaigns.
CALDWELL IN OPENERS:Kim Caldwell improved her season-opening game record to 8-1 with Tuesday’s triumph. The first-year head coach tacked on her first-ever win on Rocky Top and her first-ever season-opening victory when playing on her home court, including stints at Glenville State and Marshall. She was 7-0 in openers at GSU and 0-1 at MU.
RACKING UP RUNS: The Big Orange put together three runs of 10 points or more vs. Samford. It was all Lady Vols in the first quarter, as Tennessee put together a 10-0 spree against the Bulldogs. The Big Orange continued with another binge of points, bridging a 21-0 run between the first and second quarters. The Lady Vols later added a 13-0 run spanning the second and third quarters.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation expects I-40 across the state line to be open through the Pigeon River Gorge by New Year’s Day.
NCDOT says traffic would be moving slower than normal, estimating a 40 mph speed limit with one lane in each direction.
The news comes just over a month after Hurricane Helene brought floodwaters to the area, washing away several areas of the interstate’s eastbound lanes.
Long-term plans are still in early development and there‘s no set date for when construction on the final repairs would start or how much they’ll cost.
Posted on November 7, 2024 by Jim Kelly • 0 Comments
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee softball team will hold a home run derby on Friday, Nov. 8 at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium and honor one of its “Legends of the Game” Lauren Gibson as a part of its homecoming festivities. The event is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. ET and will be open to the…… Continue Reading
Posted on November 7, 2024 by Jim Kelly • 0 Comments
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tennessee defensive back Will Brooks was named a 2024 Burlsworth Trophy nominee on Tuesday afternoon. The trophy is in its 15th year of existence and is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, former University of Arkansas walk-on and All-American offensive lineman. It is awarded to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as…… Continue Reading
A registered sex offender is taken into custody after entering an elementary school. Anderson County Schools officials say a person on the registry entered Lake City Elementary School on Friday. Security protocols, including a mandatory background check for all visitors, the school district said, immediately flagged the person and police responded. “Thanks to the swift,…… Continue Reading
Posted on November 6, 2024 by rtravers • 0 Comments
Nashville, TN (WOKI) The dust from the election still settling, two of Tennessee’s top lawmakers are pushing forward another bill aimed at establishing a private school voucher program in the state. Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth Wednesday introduced the Education Freedom Act of 2025. The numbers in this latest…… Continue Reading
Posted on November 6, 2024 by rtravers • 0 Comments
Maryville, TN (WOKI) Maryville Police solve a decades-old cold case making an arrest. The case centers on the 39-year-old cold case murder of Billy Wayne Hearon. Police have charged 62-year-old Roger Oody in his murder. Hearon was found dead in his home in Shady Acres Trailer Park, MPD said, adding that he had died from…… Continue Reading
Posted on November 6, 2024 by Jim Kelly • 0 Comments
PHILADELPHIA – Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been named a semifinalist for the 2024 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Wednesday. The Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award is an honor given each year to the most outstanding freshman player in college football. Named after Shaun Alexander since 2018, this…… Continue Reading
Posted on November 6, 2024 by Jim Kelly • 0 Comments
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Riding a 7-1 start to the season, Tennessee football is ranked No. 7 in the initial College Football Playoff Selection Committee rankings that were announced on Tuesday night. The Volunteers were the fifth-highest ranked one-loss team and the third-highest ranked SEC team. A nation-best eight SEC programs were ranked in the first Top 25. …… Continue Reading
Multiple media outlets calling the Presidential race – President Trump has reached 277 electoral votes, enough to win the presidency once again becoming the 47th president-elect. Marsha Blackburn keeps her Senate seat beating Knoxville’s Gloria Johnson who will keep her current State House District 90 seat. Tim Burchett retains his United States House of Representatives…… Continue Reading
Posted on November 6, 2024 by Jim Kelly • 0 Comments
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | November 05, 2024 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee women’s basketball team eclipsed the century mark in a season opener for just the sixth time in its illustrious history, cruising to a 101-53 victory over Samford Tuesday night in Kim Caldwell‘s debut as Lady Vol head coach. With a crowd of 9,515 looking on…… Continue Reading
The North Carolina Department of Transportation expects I-40 across the state line to be open through the Pigeon River Gorge by New Year’s Day. NCDOT says traffic would be moving slower than normal, estimating a 40 mph speed limit with one lane in each direction. The news comes just over a month after Hurricane Helene…… Continue Reading
