Lady Vols Soccer ⚽️ Tennessee @ Virginia Tech 11/15 Friday 7PM Blacksburg VA ⚽️ NCAA TOURNAMENT First Round ESPN+

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SEC Network Unveils 2023 SEC Soccer
SEC Network Soccer

SEC Network's soccer schedule will feature 26 matches, kicking off at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 17, with No. 6 Florida State facing off against Texas A&M at 2 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Every Thursday night will feature a new matchup on SEC Network at 7 p.m., with several Sunday afternoons showcasing SEC action.

A trio of SEC squads are highlighted in the preseason top 25 - No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Arkansas and No. 12 South Carolina - all of which have multiple appearances across ESPN platforms.

As in previous years, the entire SEC Soccer Championship will air on SEC Network. Full coverage details will be announced at a later date.

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So Auburn is on four times, Kentucky (worst team in the conference) two times--and the Vols bringing up the rear with one broadcast.
Seems in the keeping with the direction of things right now....
 
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turbovol said:
So Auburn is on four times, Kentucky (worst team in the conference) two times--and the Vols bringing up the rear with one broadcast.
Seems in the keeping with the direction of things right now....
Click to expand...
We were ranked #11 in last years preseason coaches poll, this year we didn’t even get one vote.
We were also picked preseason #1 in the SEC last year, this year #6.
 
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turbovol said:
The media is one part of the issue, but UT is the other. The soccer season has started and there hasn't been a word in the Daily Beacon--nothing, zero. UTSports.com has also produced almost nothing--not a single preseason story, I don't think, and only a brief piece on the Alabama game. Why would outside media become interested in the non-rev sports at UT when the UT media is not interested in doing stories on non-rev sports? Generating interest must start at the source--with the coaches and the programs itself. Their staffers should be calling the News Sentinel--not fans. If they're not pushy about getting coverage, then the UT media are not going to do much and, as stated, neither will the outside media. I'm not unrealistic; I don't expect a lot of coverage of non-rev sports--but there should be some coverage or you will never build fan bases for these sports. South Carolina, bama, florida, Texas A&M and others have more fan/media support for soccer than UT does. Why? I suspect because they work at it a bit. A number of universities outside the SEC have a serious fan base for soccer.

Lastly, there is a obvious constituency for soccer if you work at it. It's the most popular sport in the world. The Women's World Cup is taking place right now. Huge numbers of American kids play soccer, and the sport continues to grow in popularity. The U.S. women's national team has a major following. Plus Knoxville now has a pro, or semi-pro, team. While I want other non-rev sports to get coverage, none of them can make similar claims. So there is a base of interest that can be tapped into...if people work at it.

Also, if you notice, the universities in America where Olympic (non-rev) sports are popular and successful tend to be some of the best colleges in America--Stanford, UVA, Cal, North Carolina, others. It's time that UT and the state of Tennessee broaden out from its yahoo, football-obsessed culture. I love UT but it's not at the level of, say, UNC, and wouldn't it be nice if it was. You know which student-athletes at UT are the most well-rounded and impressive? The non-rev student athletes. In fact, two of UT's consistently best programs are swimming and tennis. It's time that their efforts and contributions to the UT athletic department and university are recognized and appreciated a bit more. We have a top swimming coach, and White rewarded him for his success very recently with an extension and pathetic annual raise of $10,000! Are you kidding? The coach should be looking for a job at another university that appreciates him more. I'm not anti-football and basketball--my father played football at UT, and I fully realize that football pays the bills--but it would be nice to see UT and its fan base become a bit more polished instead of continuing the Southern drool 24/7 over one or two sports. I think the non-rev coaches are just resigned to the fact that everything in the South still revolves around football and thus don't expect much coverage.
Click to expand...

I agree with most of what you write. But the primary responsibility for publicizing UTs non-revenue sports teams should reside with the office of the Athletics Director and the University's PR office, office of media relations or whatever UT calls it these days. The individual teams shouldn't have to shoulder the primary responsibility of pleading with the press and media outlets to cover their teams. That is the job of the organization which funds them, pays their staffs and gives them a field to play on. And, let's face it, the Knoxville News-Sentinel these days is primarily a local sports paper. Sports coverage sells papers and keeps it afloat. UT supplies a lot of advertising revenue for it and access for its reporters. UT has leverage here if they care to use it.
 
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How Joe Kirt expects transfers to make impact for Tennessee soccer in 2023

How Joe Kirt expects transfers to make impact for Tennessee soccer

Year two under Tennessee soccer coach Joe Kirt is beginning much differently than year one.

UT only lost one starter to graduation after the historic 2021 season and former coach Brian Pensky's departure for Florida State. After Kirt's first season, Tennessee lost six starters, four to graduation. There's a strong core of returners, but the roster looks quite different with 10 newcomers this season.

Six of them are freshmen, but Kirt added a wealth of experience to the roster with four transfers.

"They've all been around the block, they've all played in a lot of games and you can see that straightaway in how they approach things," Kirt said Tuesday. "It's just, there's no shock value, it's just OK, here's what we're doing. What's my role? What do I need to do today, and how can I get better?"

Three of the four transfers are graduate transfers and all will be able to make an immediate impact this season. Tennessee begins the 2023 season against Cal on Thursday (7 p.m. ET).

Sizzy Lawton, a Penn transfer, and Nayeli Diaz, a Saint Mary's transfer, are both forwards who are "confident, courageous in the attacking third," Kirt said.

Diaz scored a team-high eight goals in 18 games last season, along with six assists. She earned All-West Coast Conference honors as a senior and has experience playing with the U17 and senior Mexican national teams.

Lawton started in 37 of her 47 appearances at Penn, recording 10 goals and 12 assists in three seasons. She earned second team All-Ivy honors her junior and senior year.

Samantha Agresti, a graduate midfielder, transferred from Boston College. Kirt said she brings a "composure and a calm" to the midfield, which will be key for the Lady Vols with loss of two key midfielders after last season, Abbey Burdette to graduation and Taylor Huff to the transfer portal and Florida State. Agresti was a four-year starter for the Eagles and recorded five goals and nine assists.

Sheridan Michel, a junior defender, transferred from Oklahoma. The Ottawa, Ontario, native started both seasons with the Sooners and earned All-Big 12 second team honors last season.

The transfers' veteran presence have been especially important with Tennessee losing four seniors to graduation after the 2022 season. Three of them – Burdette, Lindsey Romig and Mackenzie George – spent at least four years in Knoxville and were significant leaders in the locker room.

Tennessee has five members of its 2019 recruiting class entering their senior year to step into those roles, but adding the experience with transfers has already made an impact in preseason.

"They've all played a lot of games and not much fazes them," Kirt said. "So having that extra leadership has been a big part of our preseason so far and they've stepped right in and feel really comfortable and on board with what we're doing."
 
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TomHoot said:
I agree with most of what you write. But the primary responsibility for publicizing UTs non-revenue sports teams should reside with the office of the Athletics Director and the University's PR office, office of media relations or whatever UT calls it these days. The individual teams shouldn't have to shoulder the primary responsibility of pleading with the press and media outlets to cover their teams. That is the job of the organization which funds them, pays their staffs and gives them a field to play on. And, let's face it, the Knoxville News-Sentinel these days is primarily a local sports paper. Sports coverage sells papers and keeps it afloat. UT supplies a lot of advertising revenue for it and access for its reporters. UT has leverage here if they care to use it.
Click to expand...


Completely agree--and you are right to lay blame with the various UT offices, including media relations and whoever runs UTSports.com. My point is that the individual programs have staffs, and if others are not doing their jobs, you the coach or one of your program assistants or staffers should pick up the phone and call media relations or the Daily Beacon, and say, "hey, our season is starting, we'd like to build a fan base, how about a little coverage."
 
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The Vols SEC record of course will be vital with respect to RPI and the NCAA tourney, but so are non-conference games, especially this first game against
Cal along with the games against SMU and Indiana. I know little about Cal's team this year but expect them to be a formidable opponent. They were two games above .500 in the tough Pac12 conference last season, 10-5-6 overall (6 ties!), made the NCAA tourney and are picked to finish 4th in the conference this season--behind UCLA, Stanford and Southern Cal--three powerhouses. That suggests a good team. And they are well coached. Our transfer Nayeli Diaz will be familiar with Cal: Her St. Mary's team played Cal last season and lost by a 2-0 score, with Cal dominating that game statistically. We'd better have our act together. That could be a big ask given that we've only played one preseason match, no sign of Katz, Fusco and Thomas playing only a meager 2 minutes, so who knows what's up with them, among other potential issues.
 
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Five Lady Vols Named To SEC Preseason Watch List


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Five Lady Vols were named to the 2023 SEC Preseason Watchlist, as announced by the conference Tuesday. Redshirt senior Jaida Thomas, senior Lawson Renie, juniors Sheridan Michel and Jordan Fusco, and sophomore Kameron Simmonds were all tabbed as players to watch this season.

Thomas, a three-time All-SEC player and 2021 All-American, enters her fourth season on Rocky Top with 38 career goals, eyeing a program record as she closes in on Kylee Rossi's program-best 43. She finished the 2022 season with 13 goals and had the best goals-per-game average in the SEC at .68.

Renie has led the team in minutes played for the last two seasons, anchoring a back line that posted 23 shutouts during that span, including program records of 13 shutouts and a shutout streak of 633:53 in 2021. She also got involved in the offense last season, scoring three goals, two of which were gamewinners.

A transfer from Oklahoma, Michel appeared in 20 games and made 19 starts for the Sooners last year, earning All-Big 12 Second Team honors. She scored three goals on just seven shots to record the best shot percentage on the team at .429.

A two-year starter for the Lady Vols, Fusco enters her junior campaign poised to be an offensive threat in the midfield. The 2021 All-SEC Freshman Team nominee has scored four goals in each of her two seasons on Rocky Top and has amassed a total of 22 career points.

Following a successful freshman season in which she carded four goals, Simmonds made her debut for the Jamaican Women's National team, scoring her first goal for the senior squad against the Czech Republic at the 2023 Cup of Nations and making the roster for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup where she was part of the Reggae Girlz historic run as Jamaica became the first Caribbean nation to advance to the Round of 16.

Tennessee will open the season on Thursday, hosting California in a 7 p.m. ET contest at Regal Stadium.
 
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turbovol said:
The media is one part of the issue, but UT is the other. The soccer season has started and there hasn't been a word in the Daily Beacon--nothing, zero. UTSports.com has also produced almost nothing--not a single preseason story, I don't think, and only a brief piece on the Alabama game. Why would outside media become interested in the non-rev sports at UT when the UT media is not interested in doing stories on non-rev sports? Generating interest must start at the source--with the coaches and the programs itself. Their staffers should be calling the News Sentinel--not fans. If they're not pushy about getting coverage, then the UT media are not going to do much and, as stated, neither will the outside media. I'm not unrealistic; I don't expect a lot of coverage of non-rev sports--but there should be some coverage or you will never build fan bases for these sports. South Carolina, bama, florida, Texas A&M and others have more fan/media support for soccer than UT does. Why? I suspect because they work at it a bit. A number of universities outside the SEC have a serious fan base for soccer.

Lastly, there is a obvious constituency for soccer if you work at it. It's the most popular sport in the world. The Women's World Cup is taking place right now. Huge numbers of American kids play soccer, and the sport continues to grow in popularity. The U.S. women's national team has a major following. Plus Knoxville now has a pro, or semi-pro, team. While I want other non-rev sports to get coverage, none of them can make similar claims. So there is a base of interest that can be tapped into...if people work at it.

Also, if you notice, the universities in America where Olympic (non-rev) sports are popular and successful tend to be some of the best colleges in America--Stanford, UVA, Cal, North Carolina, others. It's time that UT and the state of Tennessee broaden out from its yahoo, football-obsessed culture. I love UT but it's not at the level of, say, UNC, and wouldn't it be nice if it was. You know which student-athletes at UT are the most well-rounded and impressive? The non-rev student athletes. In fact, two of UT's consistently best programs are swimming and tennis. It's time that their efforts and contributions to the UT athletic department and university are recognized and appreciated a bit more. We have a top swimming coach, and White rewarded him for his success very recently with an extension and pathetic annual raise of $10,000! Are you kidding? The coach should be looking for a job at another university that appreciates him more. I'm not anti-football and basketball--my father played football at UT, and I fully realize that football pays the bills--but it would be nice to see UT and its fan base become a bit more polished instead of continuing the Southern drool 24/7 over one or two sports. I think the non-rev coaches are just resigned to the fact that everything in the South still revolves around football and thus don't expect much coverage.
Click to expand...

The Daily Beacon is not controlled by UT or UT Athletics. It's a student newspaper that only prints once a week during the summer.

You don't even call the team by the correct name, so maybe you could help by at least doing that.
 
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