Lady Vols basketball had some big recruits in town for its thriller against No. 4 LSU.
Five-star forward Oliviyah Edwards, who’s ranked No. 4 in the 2026 class, was on campus on Thursday to watch No. 15 Tennessee take on the Tigers at Food City Center. The Lady Vols fell 89-87 in a game that came down to Kailyn Gilbert hitting an off-balance hook shot to win it for LSU.
“Thank you Tennessee for an amazing visit. #NotCommitted #LadyVols #gamewasinsane” Edwards wrote in a post on X with a photo of her with Kaniya Boyd, Talaysia Cooper and Jewel Spear on Friday morning. She also posted a handful of photos on Instagram.
There were reports that five-star guard Trinity Jones, who’s ranked No. 8 in the 2026 class, was also on campus for the game Thursday. Jones is a 6-foot-2 prospect out of Bolingbrook, Illinois. If so, Jones was on campus for the second time in the last three months. She also took a visit to Knoxville in October.
Jones was part of the USA Basketball U16 team that won gold at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. She averaged 9.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in the tournament. Jones started her high school career at Naperville Central, where Lady Vols legend Candace Parker played, before transferring to Bolingbrook.
Both Edwards and Jones have gone viral for dunking at a young age. Edwards has been dunking since she was in 7th grade playing U17 and Jones threw down a dunk as a sophomore.
Edwards, a 6-3 forward, is a coveted prospect in the junior high school class. She’s a three-level scorer, and she’s a fit for coach Kim Caldwell’s system. Edwards would give the Lady Vols a much-needed presence in the frontcourt.
In an ESPN article from Nov. 9, 2023, Shane Laflin named both Edwards and Jones as two 2026 prospects with the most upside.
“Edwards dunks the ball with ease and can stroke the 3, making her one of the most electric players in the class. She is tall, long, and strong – and her upside is essentially limitless … She will impact whatever program she chooses in the future – and beyond if she wants to.”
MORE: Why Lady Vols recruiting revival under Kim Caldwell is significant for the future of program
Edwards narrowed her list to 10 schools in June, which included both Tennessee and LSU. She’s also considering South Carolina, USC, Notre Dame, Duke, Florida, Washington, Florida State and North Carolina.
Edwards played at Overtime Select last summer with Tennessee signees Mia and Mya Pauldo and Deniya Prawl. The Pauldo twins and Prawl are part of the No. 2-ranked 2025 class, which also includes Jaida Civil and Lauren Hurst.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Five-star forward Oliviyah Edwards had ‘amazing visit’ with Lady Vols
