KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kim Caldwell announced Monday that she has received an SEC Grant-in-Aid (GIA) and Institutional Financial Aid Agreement (IFAA) from transfer Ruby Whitehorn.
The 5-foot-11 guard, a native of Detroit, Michigan, attended Detroit Edison Public School Academy—the same school where UT’s 2024 WNBA First Round Draft pick, Rickea Jackson, was selected. Over the course of the previous two seasons at Clemson, the guard started 62 of 66 games. After 6-2 forward Alyssa Latham (Syracuse), 6-4 forward Lazaria Spearman (Miami), and 5-7 guard Samara Spencer (Arkansas), Whitehorn will be a junior in 2024–25. Under the direction of first-year head coach Kim Caldwell, Whitehorn is the fourth player to sign out of the transfer portal with the Lady Vols.
“I’m really excited about what Ruby will bring to the program,” said Caldwell. “Her athleticism will greatly aid us on the defensive end, and she is one of the best downhill scorers I have seen.” She is a perfect fit for our curriculum, and I am eager for her to visit our campus and demonstrate her abilities.”
Whitehorn is the third top-30 recruit in that class that is expected to make her Big Orange debut this autumn. She is currently ranked No. 15 in the 2022 espnW 100 coming out of high school. She will be a member of the squad alongside Spearman, number 30, and Taylor Cooper, number 18, a 6-0 guard who redshirted in 2023–24 after transferring from South Carolina last spring.
At Clemson last season, Whitehorn started 29 of 31 contests, scoring in double figures 21 times and carding a pair of double-doubles. The sophomore ranked third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and tied for second in rebounding (5.6 rpg.), both career highs. She also was second in assists (51), steals (45) and blocks (14) and fourth with a career-high 46.4 percent field goal percentage and 69.2 percent free throw shooting percentage in the 25 three-pointers made.
Whitehorn finished with 20 points or more on two different occasions. Her greatest performance of the season came in the season finale against Boston College, when she made 12 of 16 field goals. The other time was on November 24 against Mississippi State. Down the stretch, Whitehorn was a force on the glass, grabbing eight rebounds or more in seven of her previous 11 games, including a career-high 14 boards at Florida State on March 3 during the final regular-season game, and 10 at Notre Dame on February 22.
In 2022-23, Whitehorn was named to the ACC’s All-Freshman Team after starting 33 of 35 games and producing 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. Clemson’s first-ever McDonald’s High School All-American and its highest-ranked signee in program history, she fired in a career-best 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting in her seventh college appearance en route to Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team honors. She wound As a rookie, she ended up scoring 10 points or more 17 times, and on December 8, she scored 21 points against Charlotte, adding another 20+ effort.
Whitehorn averaged 10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game during her two seasons at Clemson. In her first season there, she helped the Tigers to the WNIT Sweet 16 by hitting 44.2 percent of her field goals and 66.7 percent of her efforts from the charity stripe.
Apart from her prep achievements already mentioned, Whitehorn was regarded as the second-best guard by espnW in 2022 and the highest-ranked player in Michigan. As a senior, the two-time state champion was recognized as Michigan’s Gatorade Player of the Year, Miss Basketball, and Jordan
