Kaiya Wynn leaves Lady Vols, says senior day 'breaking point' Kaiya Wynn, a reserve guard for the Tennessee women’s basketball team, announced her decision to leave the program, citing what she described as a slight during senior night as the final straw. The 20-year-old native of Tennessee, who has spent five years with the team, shared her thoughts on social media, explaining that the disappointment of not being able to start her final game at Thompson-Boling Arena pushed her to leave. The Lady Vols suffered a 87-77 regular-season loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday, marking the end of their 2025 campaign. Wynn did not play in the game, having appeared in just nine contests this season after missing all of 2024-25 due to an Achilles tendon injury. In her statement, she emphasized her dedication to the program over the past five years, stating, “For the past five years I have given my all for Tennessee and have not regretted doing so once.” She acknowledged the challenges of her last two seasons but highlighted the emotional weight of senior night. “I was hoping to start in my last appearance in Thompson-Boling,” she wrote. “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. Although that was not the sole reason, it was the breaking point for me.” Tennessee head coach Kellie Caldwell expressed regret over Wynn’s departure but acknowledged the need to move forward. “We’ll miss her,” Caldwell said, adding, “She was loved in this program, and we respect her decision, but we kind of have to turn the page and kind of focus on the SEC tournament.#sec_tournament #kaiya_wynn #tennessee_womens_basketball #kellie_caldwell #thompson_boling_arena
