Rennia DavisAt the end of the early signing period it was the Tennessee Lady Vols sitting atop of the rankings with three players all ranked in the top 11 spots. Just before the early period expired Holly Warlick’s program got even more good news on the recruiting front with the commitment of Rennia Davis of Jacksonville, Florida.
Davis, a 6-foot-2 wing who is ranked No. 9 in the 2017 class and third at her position nationally, gives Tennessee four players ranked near the top of the ELITE 150.
“If there is one thing Rennia Davis can bring to Tennessee it's scoring,” ProspectsNation.com director of scouting, Keil Moore, said. “She's been known to fill it up offensively and with their apparent need for perimeter scoring Davis could be an answer.”
Davis had a strong spring and summer with Essence Purple out of Tallahassee. She averaged 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in helping her team to an 8-2 record.
Her fit alongside Evina Westbrook of Salem, Oregon, Anastasia Hayes of Hendersonville, Tennessee, and Kasiyahna Kushkituah of Austell, Georgia, leaves the team a power forward away from recruiting an entire starting five.
This class for Tennessee is a statement that the program has no intention of fading out of the national spotlight. To be fair, it’s not as if the program hasn’t signed ranked classes in recent years, but haven’t rivaled for one of the top classes in the country with multiple top 10 players since the 2011 class when it inked Cierra Burdick and Ariel Massengale, but the last Mega class was 2008 with Glory Johnson, Amber Gray, Shekinna Stricklen, Alicia Manning and Alyssia Brewer.
This class gives the Lady Vols a core for the future after a one-player signing class in 2016. The current roster has eight players who are juniors or seniors. Look for Tennessee to be aggressive in 2018 as well with plenty of scholarship cap space available. Look for the program to target interior players to build out front court depth.
Meet The Lady Vol 2017 Class
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was a co-founder of and the national director of scouting for ESPN HoopGurlz from 2005 until 2012 and is the director of the Check Me Out Showcase. He can be reached at chris@prospectsnation.com.
