Lady Vols basketball coach Kim Caldwell gives her freshmen a lot of opportunities to play, and she expects the two players Tennessee signed in its 2026 class to make impacts right away next season.

The Lady Vols signed five-star forward Oliviyah Edwards, who’s ranked No. 2 in the class by ESPN, and four-star wing Gabby Minus during the fall signing period. Caldwell said she believes both players will “do great things for us.”

“I think what we’ve proven this year is that we’re gonna trust our freshmen,” Caldwell said Nov. 18. “We’re going to build around our freshmen. We’re going to put them on the floor. There’s not a lot of freshmen in the country that are getting the opportunity that our freshmen are. So we’re going to continue to do that with people that we bring in and let them learn and let them figure it out.”

Three of Tennessee’s five freshmen are averaging more than 15 minutes a game this season. Mia Pauldo and Jaida Civil have started in three of the four games.

Edwards, a 6-foot-3 prospect from Tacoma, Washington, was one of the most sought-after players in the 2026 class. ESPN’s Shane Laflin wrote that she has “arguably the highest ceiling as the most elite athlete in the pool of 2026 five-stars, by far.”

“(Edwards will) be one that I think will be special to watch,” Caldwell said. “She’s a great kid. She wants to get better. She wants to win. She is selfless in every aspect of, hey, we need to do what it takes to win. And to do that at a young age, especially when she has had the attention and notoriety around her, it speaks volumes of her character.”

Minus, a 6-1 prospect out of Dacula, Georgia, is ranked No. 45 in the class, according to 247Sports Composite. Caldwell said Minus is “absolutely” a good fit for her system.

“She’s athletic. She can move. She can run. She’s a three-level scorer,” Caldwell said. “Obviously, she’s coming off of an injury, but I think that she’ll be able to step in and help right away, too.”

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social‬. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Kim Caldwell expects of Lady Vols’ 2026 signees Oliviyah Edwards, Gabby Minus