Aubrey Leach named director of player development for Lady Vols
Tennessee softball head coach Karen Weekly announced the addition of Aubrey Leach to her staff Wednesday.
Leach, a former Lady Vol, will serve as the director of player development at Tennessee.
She has served as a volunteer assistant at Tennessee for the last three seasons, while pursuing a juris doctor. During Leach’s time as a graduate assistant, the Lady Vols three SEC championships, including two regular-season titles and a tournament championship. The Lady Vols also advanced to the Women’s College World Series in 2023.
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Leach played for the Lady Vols from 2016-19 and finished her collegiate career as the program’s all-time leader in runs (253) and walks (162). She also ranked second in on-base percentage (.503).
In 2019, Leach signed a professional contract with Scrap Pitch Fast Pitch. She spent the last five years playing with Athletes Unlimited.
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Lady Vols basketball SEC schedule for 2024-25 season including dates for LSU, South Carolina
Lady Vols basketball opens SEC play on the road in coach Kim Caldwell’s first season at Tennessee.
The SEC announced the 2024-25 women’s basketball schedule Wednesday, with tipoff times and broadcast information to be released at a later date. The Lady Vols’ first game in conference play is on the road against Texas A&M on Jan. 2.
“Our schedule is challenging, and the SEC is loaded this year, but we are excited to see where we stand among the top teams in the country,” Caldwell said in a school release. “We have been working hard during the preseason to create a blue collar program that Lady Vol fans will be proud to watch. We can’t wait to see everyone in Food City Center soon. The season will be here before we know it.”
Tennessee has consecutive home games twice this season with two in a row in Knoxville right after the SEC opener. Then the Lady Vols won’t have consecutive home games again for nearly a month. They’ll have three home games in a row on Feb. 13 against Auburn, Feb. 16 against Ole Miss and Feb. 20 against Alabama.
South Carolina, the reigning national champion, will travel to Knoxville for Tennessee’s only Monday game on the schedule on Jan. 27.
LSU, who won the 2023 national championship, will be Tennessee’s only home and home series in SEC play with the new scheduling format in Oklahoma and Texas’ first season in the conference. The Tigers have won the last three regular-season matchups with UT, though the Lady Vols upset them in SEC Tournament in 2022-23. Tennessee will play LSU at home on Jan. 9 and on the road Feb. 9 – which is immediately after the Lady Vols’ home date with UConn.
Tennessee will be tested often during SEC play with the additions of the Sooners and Longhorns, which have legitimate Final Four potential, and former Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks now at Kentucky. UT hosts Oklahoma on Jan. 5 and travels to Texas on Jan. 23. Kentucky is the last road game of the conference slate on Feb. 27.
The Lady Vols will face Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. at Food City Center this season. They’ll play Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Texas, and Texas A&M on the road.
The SEC has seven teams in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 for next season with the Gamecocks at No. 1. Texas is the next highest ranked team at No. 6. Including Texas and Oklahoma, 10 SEC teams made the NCAA Tournament last season.
Tennessee finished tied for fourth in the SEC last season, which was its worst conference finish since 2018-19 when UT finished tied for eighth. It was the Lady Vols’ worst finish under former coach Kellie Harper, having finished third or tied for third in her first four seasons.
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