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Lady Vols Update: SEC Coaches Poll and Roster, Jordan Horston, Rae Burrell and 'We Back Pat' Game

Just like the men's, the ladies' basketball season is right around the corner, and Kellie Harper's team is garnering preseason attention

Jack Foster

Ahead of the Lady Vols media day on Thursday, let's take a look at some recent preseason news for Tennessee's lady hoopers. 

Preseason All-SEC Coaches Poll & Rosters

The Tennessee Vols men's basketball team kicks off its season with an exhibition against Lenoir-Rhyne this Saturday, October 30 at 3 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena. Nor far behind is the Lady Vols, as their season home-opener is set for November 3 against Georgia College at 6:30 p.m. ET.

With expectations high for the Lady Vols in Kellie Harper's third year at the helm after making it to the second round of the 2021 NCAA March Madness Tournament in her second year, the SEC Coaches Preseason Poll and All-SEC Preseason Teams only add to the hype. 

The SEC officially released the All-SEC Coaches Preseason Top 25 and First Team and Second Team rosters on Tuesday, and the Vols find themselves projected to finish third in the SEC according to the poll, behind only Texas A&M and the projected winner, South Carolina. The projection is the highest for the Lady Vol hoopers since the 2016-2017 preseason poll was released, which saw the Lady Vols projected also to finish third. 

On the All-SEC Preseason First Team roster, the SEC Coaches awarded Lady Vol senior forward Rae Burrell a spot, and the All-SEC Preseason Second Team granted Tennessee junior center Tamari Key a spot. (See tweet below)

The entire first and second-team All-SEC Coaches Preseason roster can be seen by scrolling down in the article via SEC Sports. Click here for the rosters.

Rae Burrell

Burrell was tabbed with All-SEC Second Team honors for the 2020-2021 season, as the Las Vegas native averaged 16.8 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, scored 10 or more in 22 out of 25 games, had a .458 field goal percentage, shot 82.5 percent from the line and 40.2 percent from beyond the arc, with all the shooting percentages being career bests for Burrell. Among the 22 double-digit efforts from the Lady Vol, 17 of them were north of 15 points, with seven being 20 or more, leading her team. The Las Vegas native fired in 15 or more points 17 times and hit 20+ on seven occasions. The senior is the fifth-best returning scorer in the conference and is No. 1 in free throw percentage, No. 2 in three-point field goal percentage and No. 7 in field goal percentage. Burrell is also ranked No. 24 in ESPN's 2021-2022 Women's College Basketball player rankings. 

The hype for Burrell's senior season on Rocky Top also increased on Wednesday as the Liberty High School product was recognized with a spot on the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List. (See tweet below)

Burrell joins 19 other players on the watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced on Wednesday. 

The annual Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year award is now in its fifth year, and a "national committee of top basketball personnel determined the watch list," according to UTSports' article on Burrell's recognition. The award is given to the best small forward in college women's basketball. Burrell joins former Lady Vol and now Minnesota Lynx forward Rennia Davis as the second consecutive Lady Vol to be on the list, as Davis finished top five for the award last year.

The selection committee will cut the list in half to 10 players in late January, and then February will see the list cut to five. The five finalists will be presented to the Hall of Fame selection committee, then they will select a winner in March.

For more information on the award, click here. To stay up to date on announcements and when to vote, follow @hoophall and the hashtag #MillerAward on Twitter and Instagram. The voting will go live on Friday, October 29 presented by Dell Technologies.

The complete list of the 20 women on the preseason watch list can be found here, and a list of the past winners for the award since its inaugural year in 2018 is below:

2021: Ashley Joens; Iowa State

2020: Satou Sabally; Oregon

2019: Bridget Carleton; Iowa State 

2018: Gabby Williams; Connecticut 

Tamari Key

As for Key, the Cary, North Carolina native ended the 2020-2021 season with 8.9 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 2.9 blocks per game and shot 62.8 percent from the field. The 6'6" center's block count of 72 in her second season was good enough for eleventh in the NCAA while her 2.9 blocks per game were second in the league, and Key's play in her sophomore season landed her on the SEC All-Defensive Team. Key's 72 blocked shots last season rank no. 8 on the all-time Lady Vol season totals list, and her 158 career blocks rank no. 8 all-time for the school. 'TK''s triple-double from last season against Florida is UT's fourth all-time in women's basketball.

Jordan Horston

In addition to Burrell and Key, another Lady Vol has received preseason recognition, as shooting guard Jordan Horston was added to the 2022 Ann Myers-Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced Tuesday. (See tweet below)

Like Burrell, Horston joins 19 other women on the list, and the award is entering its fifth year like the Cheryl Miller Award. 

The 6'2" Horston averaged 8.6 points per game, 4.2 assists per game, 3.9 rebounds per game and 1.4 steals per game. The Columbus, Ohio native started just over half the games in her sophomore season last year, scoring 10 or more points 14 times compared to five two years ago as a freshman. Horston finished the 2020-2021 season strong, scoring double digits in four of her past five outings. The junior's 4.2 assists per game tied for third place in the league last year, an impressive feat considering Horston was the only sophomore or freshman in the top 13. 

Horston will look to make the cut in late January when the list for the Ann-Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award goes from 20 to 10 players, and then in February when the list goes from 10 to five. The award has yet to announce when a winner will be named. 

Fans can follow the same steps for this award as they did for the Cheryl Miller Award above, but the hashtag to follow for Horston is #MeyersAward. The voting will go live on October 29 as well.

"We Back Pat" Game

The Lady Vols' "We Back Pat" home game against Kentucky has been moved to Sunday, January 16 due to a television conflict, the SEC announced on Wednesday. The game's tip-off time will be announced at a later date. 

The game is dubbed the "We Back Pat" game due to the date of the contest being during the SEC's We Back Pat Week. 

The game will be the Lady Vols' sixth conference game of the season and pits former teammates against each other, as Tennessee's head coach Kellie Harper and Kentucky's head coach Kyra Elzy were teammates on Rocky Top from 1996-1999. The two met twice last year, splitting the games with the home teams securing victories both times. 

The Lady Vols full 2021-2022 schedule can be seen here.

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.