Lady Vols forward Favor Ayodele enters transfer portal after Kim Caldwell's first season
The source requested anonymity because there hasn't been a public announcement.
Ayodele spent one season at Tennessee and was part of the five-player transfer class Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell and her staff brought in last spring. Ayodele, who transferred from Pitt, had a limited role this season.
Ayodele averaged 5.7 minutes and only appeared in 15 games. The 6-foot-1 forward averaged one point and 1.7 rebounds.
She's the second player to enter the transfer portal following Caldwell's first season leading the Lady Vols. Junior guard Avery Strickland entered the transfer portal on April third as a grad transfer after two seasons at Tennessee. Strickland also had a limited role this season.
The fifth-year senior has one year of eligibility left due to the waiver approved by the NCAA Division I Board of the Directors in December after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia sued the NCAA. The waiver gives athletes an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 if they previously competed at non-NCAA schools for one or more years and would have exhausted NCAA eligibility after 2024-25.
Ayodele, who's from Móstoles, Spain, has only played two seasons in NCAA Division I. She played three seasons at different junior colleges before playing at Pitt in 2023-24. Ayodele played at Indian River State College, Eastern Florida State College and Independence Community College. She was a second-team NJCAA All-American as a junior and a first-team NJCAA All-American as a sophomore.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @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: Lady Vols basketball forward Favor Ayodele enters transfer portal

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
13 minutes ago
- USA Today
NCAA lists Iowa football rivalry as one of biggest nonconference games in 2025
When you ask any Iowa fan who the Hawkeyes' biggest rival is on the gridiron, you'll probably hear a couple of different responses. Some may say Nebraska (though that rivalry has been very one-sided the past decade), others may say Minnesota or even Wisconsin. All of those Big Ten foes provide unique challenges for Iowa each season. But there's one rival that hits even closer to home for many Iowa fans. The annual Cy-Hawk game is important every year for people in the state of Iowa. It's a chance to have bragging rights for the next year and makes for fun debates at the water cooler. But this year's game is for more than just bragging rights. There's a lot at stake for both teams. The NCAA released its top 30 nonconference games of the 2025 season, and sure enough, Iowa vs Iowa State in week two is on the list. But why exactly is this game so important for both teams, outside of just the general rivalry? The stakes for this year's Cy-Hawk game For the Cyclones, this game is big because of their week zero matchup. Iowa State plays Big 12 rival Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland, in week zero to begin its season. If they pick up a win in that game and beat the Hawkeyes in week two, they'll establish themselves as a top team in the conference and a threat to make the College Football Playoff. If they lose in Ireland, they'll need to beat Iowa to avoid a 0-2 start to their season. Regardless of the week zero result, the Iowa game is huge for the Cyclones. And for the Hawkeyes, it's the first test of the 2025 season. They should take care of FCS Albany in week one (fingers crossed), but we won't know a whole lot about this team until after they travel to Ames in week two. A win over Iowa State with a strong performance from Mark Gronowski will have Hawkeye fans over the moon excited entering conference play. A loss to Iowa State would bring lots of questions over just how good Iowa is in 2025. For both teams, this is a pivotal swing game early in the season and could catapult or derail their season before it gets off the ground. When you add that to the bragging rights on the line, it's easy to see why the NCAA labeled this as one of the best nonconference games of the 2025 season. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney


Fox News
25 minutes ago
- Fox News
Bristol Motor Speedway to host Record Crowd for Tennessee's first MLB Game
Bristol Motor Speedway is ready to make dual history by hosting the first Major League Baseball game in Tennessee, and in front of a record crowd. The stage – or in this case the racetrack – has been set for the biggest crowd for a regular season baseball game in league history at Saturday night's MLB Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds. "The way the venue looks really is something that you can put on paper, but you really can't get a true vision of it until you actually put grandstands on the infield of the track, and you put 3,500 seats in the middle of 87,000 seats," Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB's senior vice president of global events, said Friday. "Those things just don't become a reality until you actually see them." What fans will see Saturday is a baseball diamond tucked inside the infield of the half-mile bullring at Bristol. A temporary grandstand wraps around both sidelines with a press box at the top. The track's Colossus videoboard hovers over foul territory along the third base line. Any balls hit off Colossus will be foul. [Related: MLB Speedway Classic At Bristol: NASCAR Drivers Reimagined As Baseball Players] Three-time All-Star Sean Casey played in a March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers with 115,300 at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game. Casey said Friday that the energy from the fans that day was "incredible." "I think the Reds and the Braves taking this field with 90,000-plus people at Bristol Motor Speedway, the energy for this game is going to be off the charts," Casey said after spending time on this field broadcasting with MLB Network. MLB didn't try to top that 2008 mark for attendance, blocking off seats in Turns 3 and 4 at the track with a racing capacity of 146,000. Officials announced Monday that more than 85,000 tickets had been sold to top the previous paid attendance of 84,587 set Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees. Yolkut said a difference between now and the 2008 game is this is a regular-season game and not an exhibition. This game wasn't about simply packing people in to set a record and telling some fans to just watch the game on the videoboard. "We thought it was important to have as minimal obstruction seats as possible and to make sure that the fans coming were going to have a great experience," Yolkut said. The Reds held off the Braves 3-2 in Cincinnati on Friday afternoon. That gave everyone at Bristol time to prepare for Saturday's spectacle. The teams have separate clubhouses, with the Reds behind the baseball field's grandstand and the Braves just past the right field fence next to the track wall. A few miles away, the Braves threw a watch party at the Bristol Paramount Theater for Friday's game. Admission was free with souvenirs available and the concession stand open with the big screen view. To make sure fans arrive early Saturday, MLB also has a plan. The MLB Fan Zone just outside the speedway's towering walls features a 110-foot Ferris wheel, food trucks, pitching tunnels and batting cages and team mascots. Tim McGraw and Pitbull will headline a big pre-game concert inside Bristol. A flyover is planned, and Chipper Jones and Johnny Bench will handle the first pitch. The chance to see history had fans arriving Thursday to take advantage of Bristol's campgrounds. A group of Braves' fans came from Charleston, South Carolina, and set up tents. Rich Lorenzo, 40, has been watching the Braves since he grew up in Columbus, Georgia. "I'm super excited because here I've actually run Bristol in two different cars here, and it's kind of cool to come for something other than racing," Lorenzo said as he sat next to his tent. "So it's a really, really amazing event to be a part of. Plus, the first Major League Baseball game in Tennessee." The 124,000 square feet of AstroTurf will be donated after the game to East Tennessee State University as part of MLB 's Better Together social responsibility initiative. ETSU has had 45 players taken in the MLB draft. That program also held a STEM event in the infield Friday. About 60 members of the local Boys and Girls Club got to show the science and math behind hitting a baseball, running the bases or the quick reactions needed for players and NASCAR drivers. "We also get the opportunity to invest in the community that's hosting us," said April Brown, MLB's senior vice president of social responsibility. "So this is incredibly important to our MLB Together pillars because education and partnerships are key to what we want to invest in." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!


Fox News
25 minutes ago
- Fox News
'Field of Dreams' To Hoops On A Battleship: MLB Speedway Classic Joins This List
Basketball games on tennis courts. College hoops on a battleship. Baseball in a cornfield. You can get real creative about where teams play. We'll see another one on Saturday – an MLB game on a NASCAR racetrack – when a record crowd is expected at Tennessee's Bristol Motor Speedway. As we prepare to watch home runs fly high over the high banks, let's dive back into some of the other interesting places to catch a game. MLB at Field of Dreams – Yankees vs. White Sox, Aug. 12, 2021 It was built, and they came. Inspired by the 1989 film "Field of Dreams", both teams' players – dressed in retro uniforms – entered the baseball field in Dyersville, Iowa, built specifically for the event through the corn stalks, recalling one of the movie's most memorable scenes. Adding to the aura was actor Kevin Costner, star of the movie, participating in the pregame ceremony. The stadium was built next to the field used in the film, designed to blend seamlessly with the landscape. Adding to the cinematic flair was Tim Anderson's walk-off homer that sailed into the cornfields to clinch the win for the White Sox. Was it heaven? No, but the whole event created enough memories for fans that they'll have to brush them away from their faces, as James Earl Jones' famed character Terrance Mann said in the movie. What was it like? "Fans came to see a show, and we gave them a show. Being able to walk it off is definitely one of my best moments of my career for sure." – White Sox outfielder Tim Anderson, in 2021 "That was as special and breathtaking a setting for a baseball game as I've ever been part of." – Yankees manager Aaron Boone, in 2021 Battle at Bristol — Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech, Sept. 10, 2016 A record-breaking 156,990 fans packed Bristol Motor Speedway to watch Tennessee and Virginia Tech in a college football spectacle. Usually reserved for NASCAR, the racetrack transformed into a gridiron, creating the largest-ever crowd for a college football game in a jaw-dropping albiet cavernous motorsport setting. Adding to the uniqueness of the venue was that both schools are fairly equidistant from the racetrack, with the city of Bristol separated by the Virginia-Tennessee state line. What was it like? "I think the reality hit our players when we came here yesterday for the walk through with all the campers and trailers again this is truly a special evening that we'll remember for a lifetime." – Tennessee coach Butch Jones, in 2016 Carrier Classic – UNC vs. Michigan State, Nov. 11, 2011 College basketball took to the sea as part of the "Carrier Classic" series, with the Tar Heels and the Spartans playing aboard the USS Carl Vinson, an active aircraft carrier in San Diego on Veterans Day in 2011. Players adjusted to unique conditions, including glare from the sun and wind on the open court that sat on top of the ship's flight deck. The game drew 8,111 fans in attendance, including active military personnel and President Barack Obama. There had been concern that condensation would accumulate on the temporary court, which did occur in the 2012 edition of the event in South Carolina and prompted some of those games to be canceled. What was it like? "I was just sort of jogging, waving, 'Oh hey, hi, there's a sailor,' … We're all just looking around, taking it easy, looking around. I had to remind myself, 'OK, this is a game. I have to focus.' It was hard." - UNC player Harrison Barnes, in 2011 WNBA's Liberty Outdoor Classic at Arthur Ashe Stadium – July 19, 2008 Four years after playing at Radio City Music Hall, the Liberty were at another unique venue – even if it was technically on a court rather than a theater stage. In 2008, the Liberty hosted a WNBA game at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, the main site of the US Open. The stadium was a fitting venue as it is part of the USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center, named after the tennis legend and pioneer of women's sports. The 19,000 fans who flocked to the game, which did see swirling winds hinder some of the on court again, set a then-record for league attendance. What was it like? "It's the perfect arena, it's almost the same (dimensions) … Basketball was my first love, so for me, it's very appropriate that the WNBA is playing the game at the center." - Tennis icon Billie Jean King, in 2008 "NBA Outdoors" at Indian Wells – Phoenix Suns, 2008–2010 The NBA hit the desert as the Suns hosted a series of preseason games at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California's Coachella Valley. Often known in tennis as the home of the "fifth Grand Slam," it was a novel sight to instead see some slam dunks in what was dubbed "NBA Outdoors." In the first edition, held on Oct. 11, 2008, the high desert temperatures dipped to below 70 degrees by the evening tip-off, accompanied by strong winds in the fourth quarter that affected the ball and court conditions. What was it like? "I don't think anyone expected it to be this cold here. It felt like Edmonton, Alberta, not Palm Springs." – Suns guard Steve Nash, in 2008 "It was colder than a motherf-----. And you can quote me on that." - Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, in 2008 NHL Winter Classic/Stadium Series, 2008 - present Hockey originated as an outdoor sport, often played on frozen lakes and rivers, but it took on a new meaning when the NHL started the Winter Classic in 2008 at iconic football and baseball stadiums. The inaugural edition at Buffalo's snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium drew over 71,000 fans, with the 2014 event in Michigan Stadium drawing an NHL-record crowd of 105,491 between the Red Wings and the Maple Leafs. The Stadium Series expanded the outdoor concept, featuring games at venues like Dodger Stadium (2014), bringing hockey to warm-weather locales with palm trees and concerts. WNBA at Radio City Music Hall – 2004 Radio City Music Hall is known for the Rockettes instead of rebounds, but one of New York's most iconic stages provided a unique hoop setting in 2004. The New York Liberty played six home games at the famed venue in 2004 amid Madison Square Garden renovations, trading the hardwood for center stage. The games were played in front of red curtains, creating a surreal and intimate basketball experience in midtown Manhattan. What was it like? "The lighting was different, and that skip pass from left to right we had to be on target or else it was going into the audience. I was like, 'No loose ball, don't go after them. Don't jump off the stage.'" - Former Liberty guard Vickie Johnson, in 2011 Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!