Kim Caldwell responds to Kaiya Wynn leaving Lady Vols basketball

Kim Caldwell said she was caught off guard by Kaiya Wynn‘s decision to leave the Lady Vols basketball two days after she did not play on senior day.

“We will miss her,” Caldwell said Wednesday. “She was loved in this program. We respect her decision, but we kind of have to turn the page and focus on the SEC Tournament.”

Wynn left the program Tuesday. The senior guard announced her decision on X, calling not playing Sunday “a breaking point” for her but that it was “not the sole reason” for her departure.

“Not that I see other than playing time,” Caldwell said regarding possible issues for Wynn.

Wynn played 52 minutes in nine games this season after missing the 2023-24 season after tearing her Achilles tendon before the season.

Wynn explained in her statement on X that she was “most looking forward to senior night” after her final two seasons at UT were “less than ideal for many reasons.” She wrote that she hoped to be in the starting lineup in her final home game after never starting in her career. She was not and she ultimately declined to check in near the end of the 87-77 loss to Vanderbilt.

“That obviously did not happen and to be asked to check into the game with 15 seconds left while losing was not how I wanted to spend my final moments in my arena after five years,” Wynn wrote. “Although that was not the sole reason, it was the breaking point for me.”

Wynn’s departure comes after the end of the regular season and two days before the Lady Vols begin postseason play. She said the decision was “not made lightly or instantly.”

The Lady Vols (16-12) open SEC Tournament play as the No. 6 seed on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network) against the winner No. 11 Alabama (21-9) and No. 14 Missouri (16-15). They have lost six straight games and nine of their past 11.

“I think we have been resilient all year and this is just another situation where we’re going to have to continue to do that,” Caldwell said.

The 6-foot guard played in 103 games in four seasons. She averaged 2.6 points in 8.7 minutes per game in her career. Her best season was in 2023-24, when she averaged 4.4 points and 1.6 assists in 13.4 minutes per game.

Wynn signed with UT as the No. 62 prospect in the 2021 class. She was the top-ranked in-state prospect out of Ensworth in Nashville before playing her final high school season in Houston.

“I have the utmost love and respect for my teammates and this program and wish everyone nothing but the best,” Wynn wrote Tuesday. “Thank you Lady Vols Nation for the past 5 five years, you all made this kid from Tennessee so extremely happy.”