Aaliyah Moore commits to Lady Vols basketball as Texas transfer forward

Lady Vols basketball is adding some size as Texas transfer forward Aaliyah Moore is transferring into the program.

Moore visited Tennessee on Friday and admitted the visit exceeded her expectations.

“I’ll be completely honest with you, they did a heck of a job on my visit,” Moore said. “It exceeded my expectations, and the number one thing that I told coach on the phone before I even went to the school was that I just wanted to feel wanted by everyone. The minute I got on campus, that’s all I felt from coach Kim all the way down to the managers.”

The 6-foot-1 forward is averaging 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 89 career games in four seasons at Texas. She had surgeries on both knees, ending her season in the 2024-25 campaign and did not play last season while recovering.

Moore started all 19 games in the 2024-25 season before her season ended due to injuries. She averaged a career-high 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in the 2023-24 season.

Moore was a McDonald’s All-American in 2021. She is from Moore, Oklahoma.

The Lady Vols and coach Kim Caldwell have now added 11 transfers and currently have 13 players on the roster.

Tennessee has added six guards in Harissoum Coulibaly (Auburn), Avery Mills (Liberty), Kaylene Smikle (Maryland), Rylie Theuerkauf (Georgia), Naomi White (Northern Arizona), Shaelyn Steele (Penn State) and Jada Eads (Seton Hall). The Lady Vols added Zhen Craft (Georgia), Harper Peterson (Stanford) Fatmata Janneh (Texas A&M).

Caldwell also has signed two high school players in Georgia forward Gabby Minus and guard Irene Oboavwoduo, who is from England.

The 5-10 Coulibaly started 18 of 31 games at Auburn, averaging 10.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game as a freshman.

The 5-9 Mills where she averaged 15.3 points this season as a sophomore at Liberty, while shooting 42.7% on 3-pointers. She earned First Team All-Conference honors. She was also named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team in 2024.

Smikle is averaging 17.2 points per game and is shooting 34.9% on 3-pointers in four seasons. The 6-foot guard played two seasons at Rutgers and two at Maryland. Smikle played in only seven games as a senior at Maryland last season before having season-ending surgery, which led to her having another year of eligibility.

Theuerkauf was Georgia’s best 3-point shooter, hitting 71 3-pointers at a 40.6% clip. The 5-9 guard averaged 11.9 points and ended the season on a hot streak. She scored in double-figures in nine of her final 12 games. She had two games with five 3-pointers and at least 20 points in that span.

The 5-9 White was the highest-scoring freshman in Division I last season. She averaged 20.8 points at Northern Arizona. She set school records for single-season scoring with 667 points and 92 3-pointers.

The 5-6 Steele played in 27 games last season starting 8. She averaged 2 points a game and 3 rebounds. 

Steele also had 31 assists. In two seasons with the Nittany Lions, Steele had 39 steals.

Craft is a 6-2 forward who was one of Georgia’s top reserves as a freshman. She played in 27 games with four starts, averaging 15.8 minutes per game. She averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Janneh, a 6-2 forward from England, averaged just shy of a double-double last season at Texas A&M.

Janneh spent one season at Texas A&M after starting her career at Saint Peter’s. She was a superstar for the Peacocks. She averaged 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Janneh led Division I in defensive rebounds that season.

Peterson played in 10 games logging a total of 37 minutes on the floor last season and she scored a total of 11 points. She was returning from a season-ending injury as a freshman.