Rylie Theuerkauf is settling into Tennessee with a familiar face nearby, and she says that has made the transition smoother from the jump.
The Lady Vols senior guard, who arrived after two seasons at Wake Forest and one at Georgia, said the chance to reunite with Isoken “Coach Eas” Uzamere has mattered. Uzamere is now on Tennessee’s staff after four seasons at Georgia, and Theuerkauf also has teammate Zhen Craft alongside her after both followed the transfer path to Knoxville.
“It’s been really amazing. I loved her at Georgia, and I love that Zhen also came with me.
She’s just helped me so much. She already knows how far I’ve came from Georgia to here.
So, it’s been a really great impact.”
That comfort has carried into the rest of the locker room, too. Theuerkauf said the team clicked quickly once official practice got rolling for the 2026-27 season.
“Honestly, it really only took us a couple days. We went to the pool one of the first days we got here, and we all clicked.
We started talking, laughing. This is probably one of the funniest teams I’ve ever been on, and we got together really well when we first got here.
She also pointed to the work she’s put in since arriving on campus, especially on the defensive end and in her conditioning. Theuerkauf said she’s more aggressive getting to the basket now, but the biggest changes have come in how she handles Tennessee’s pace.
“I would say honestly, I’m attacking the basket a lot more. My defense and probably my conditioning.
When we first got here and started running, I was like, 'Oh goodness'. But then now I’m in much better shape.
That defensive side has been the biggest adjustment, even for a player who already shot 40.3 percent from 3-point range and 86.2 percent from the line last season at Georgia. Theuerkauf said she knew what was coming when she got to Tennessee, and she wants to embrace it because of where she hopes to go next.
“I would say yes. I knew coming into it, we press a lot, we play fast, and we get up on defense. I really want to take on that role because I want to go pro, and I need to be able to play very good defense.
“Kim has been able to help me a lot with that aspect. My IQ was pretty high playing defense.
It was just actually doing it and being confident and pressuring people. I think I’ve gotten a lot better.”
Theuerkauf said head coach Kim Caldwell has made the expectations clear from day one.
“The one thing I knew right when I got on campus is she tells the truth. She’ll never lie to you.
She’s so real. It’s almost like, I say she’s like a dude.
She’s not scared to tell you the truth, and that’s really hard to find in a lot of coaches. I noticed that about her immediately.
And she’s just a really good person.”
That honesty, she said, has made it easy to understand exactly what she needs to fix each day.
“I know what I have to do every day I come in the gym. She tells me, 'OK, you had a really good day shooting, but you need to do this on the defensive end,' or 'you didn’t have a good day shooting, but you did really good on defense.' She’s just very honest, so you always know what you have to get better at.”
There wasn’t one single moment when Theuerkauf realized she could trust Caldwell. Instead, she said it was the consistency that stood out, from her visit through daily practice.
“I wouldn’t say there was a specific moment, but I just knew. Even on my visit, she told me my role, and when I got here, nothing has ever changed.
Ever since I came on my visit to here to now to every day in practice, like 'OK, today’s going to be hard.' Today’s hard.
'Today’s going to be lighter today.' Today’s lighter today.
I never have to guess.”
Tennessee’s defensive identity has asked everyone to buy in, and Theuerkauf said the responsibility is shared across the roster.
“I would say we all have a different role defensively. We all need to be able to get up and pressure and talk and everything like that.
I would say definitely our point guards are big in talking and pressuring, and we know we have to have their back, especially when they’re all the way up. Even if a post picks up full court, we know we need to match their energy.
Whoever’s at the top, we’ve got to match it.”
Craft, in Theuerkauf’s view, has already given Tennessee a lot. She called the 6-2 sophomore forward from Waldorf, Maryland, long, athletic and dangerous on the glass.
“Oh, Zhen brings a lot. Zhen brought a lot of Georgia, and she’s going to bring a lot here.
Her defense is amazing. She’s so long and athletic.
She’s rebounding. She’s learning how to push the ball up the floor, and she’s just getting really comfortable here.
She’s going to make a huge impact.”
Theuerkauf thinks the biggest surprise for fans will be the way this group plays together and the energy it brings.
“I would say our energy. I think we’re a lot of fun to watch.
I think we’re a lot of fun. Everybody wants to play with us.
You don’t want to play against us, and I think the fans are going to notice that. And also our family.
Everybody’s cheering for one another. Everyone’s together at all times.
You’ll just see a really close team, and I think that’ll be different from last year.”
She said the progress from June to now has been dramatic, from conditioning to personality to basketball.
“I think we’re a completely different team just from a personality aspect, from a conditioning aspect, from basketball aspect. We’ve all taken huge strides.
The first time we ran here, we couldn’t even make one of the ladders we ran, and then now we can do it. Kim has to cut out the times because we’re all making it too much.
It’s just a much bigger difference if you watch us from June to now.”
And while Theuerkauf is known as a shooter, she said Tennessee has pushed her and the rest of the group to be more complete players.
“I think we’ve all worked on that, especially the shooters, especially myself, I’ve worked on getting downhill a lot more. I think that’s part of the game I had to grow, and I think a lot of us we’re just growing.
Nobody’s trying to just be a shooter, just be a driver. Nobody’s trying to just be put into one role.
I think we’re all working at that, and we’re all getting a lot better at that.”
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