Tennessee Lady Vols Coach Caldwell Welcomes Baby Boy Amid Season

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kim Caldwell, head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, announced Thursday that she gave birth to a baby boy named Conor Scott Caldwell. The announcement was made via a post on Tennessee’s official social media accounts, which stated, “Mom, dad and baby are doing well.”

Caldwell, 36, is in her first season coaching the Lady Vols and did not miss any games leading up to the birth. She coached the team in their recent loss at Vanderbilt on Sunday. The No. 15-ranked Lady Vols (15-3, 3-3 SEC) are set to face No. 7 Texas (17-2, 4-1) at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Thursday night. Assistant coach Jenna Burdette will lead the team in Caldwell’s absence.

This is the first child for Caldwell and her husband, Justin Caldwell, who serves as the player development coordinator for Tennessee men’s basketball. The couple, both former basketball players at Glenville State, were married in May 2023. Justin played for the Glenville State men’s basketball team during the 2010-11 season, while Kim was a senior on the women’s team that same year.

Caldwell’s mother, Linda Stephens, will be living in Knoxville to help care for the newborn through the end of the season. Caldwell, who was hired in April to replace Kellie Harper, led the Lady Vols to a 13-0 start this season, their best since 2017-18. The team has been supportive of Caldwell throughout her pregnancy, with players expressing excitement for the baby’s arrival.

Caldwell is not the first Tennessee coach to give birth during her first season. Volleyball coach Eve Rackham Watt gave birth to her son in November 2018, and legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt welcomed her son, Tyler, in 1990. Most recently, former Lady Vols assistant coach Joy McCorvey led the team to the NCAA Tournament semifinals while 36 weeks pregnant.