Lady Vols basketball senior guard Jewel Spear made a final decision to stay at Tennessee despite the coaching change, she announced Tuesday.
Spear, who had until April 1 to decide whether to enter the WNBA draft, had said on March 31 that she would use her COVID-19 year of eligibility to return for a second season with the Lady Vols.
Then coach Kellie Harper was fired the next day. Harper had brought Spear in as a transfer, and Spear started every game.
She reaffirmed her decision to return in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Despite the coaching change, I am excited about the vision Coach Caldwell has communicated to me and the direction of the program,” Spear wrote in her post. “With that, I have decided to finish out my final year of eligibility on Rocky Top. Cue the music #feardaspear”
Spear indicated last week she hadn’t made a final decision on her future after the introductory news conference for new Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell, who was hired April 7. She said she had another meeting with Caldwell and that she would “know for sure after that.”
Spear’s announcement comes after Caldwell named her staff earlier in the day. She hired assistant coaches off SEC staffs in Roman Tubner and Gabe Lazo, and two of her assistants from Marshall, Jenna Burdette and Angel Rizor.