Redshirt Sophomore Diamond DeShields was named second-team All-American and first team All-SEC. Senior forward Bashaara Graves notched a third-team All-SEC accolade, while Te'a Cooper was tabbed as the preseason SEC Freshman of the Year.
DeShields, a 6-foot-1 guard, will hit the court for the Lady Vols this year after sitting out last season
due to the NCAA transfer rules. She was named USBWA, espnW and Full Court National Freshman of the Year while playing for North Carolina in 2013-14. The Norcross, Ga., native also was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press and Full Court after averaging 18.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. DeShields won a gold medal this summer playing for Team USA alongside teammate Mercedes Russell at the World University Games.
The 6-2 Graves enters her senior season with career averages of 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds on 52 percent shooting. The Clarksville, Tenn., native is the SEC's active leader in rebounds with 771 career boards. She was named to CSM's preseason All-SEC fourth team last season. Graves was named the Full Court National Freshman of the Year by Full Court and the Coaches SEC Freshman of the Year in 2012-13. She has been tabbed to the SEC Preseason All-SEC teams each of the past two seasons.
The 5-9 Cooper begins her career with the Lady Vols after earning co-MVP honors at the 2015 McDonald's All-American game. She was ranked as the No. 12 player in the 2015 espnW HoopGurlz Top 100. She earned top 10 rankings from four other recruiting services including a No. 1 overall ranking from D1Spects.com. The Powder Springs, Ga., native averaged 27.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 3.5 steals per game as a senior as she was named an All-American by McDonald's, WBCA, USA Today, Parade and MaxPreps.
The Lady Vols will open the 2015-16 season against Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
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