The Lady Vols have added a fifth player out of the transfer portal to join Kim Caldwell in her first season as Tennessee's head coach.
Rapuluchi Ayodele, who most recently played with Pitt, has signed on to join the Lady Vols.
She is a native of Móstoles, Spain and graduate of IES Manuela Malasaña High School.
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"We had an opportunity to add depth and rebounding strength at the forward position, and that's exactly what we've done with Rapuluchi joining the Lady Vol family," Caldwell said. "She provides a very strong and athletic presence in the paint and plays with great energy and intensity. She is a nice fit for what we are trying to do on both ends of the floor as well as for the team chemistry we are trying to build within our program."
Ayodele is a fifth-year senior after spending a single season with the Panthers. Before joining Pitt, she played for Independence CC, Eastern Florida State College and Indian River State College.
She averaged a double-double at all three schools in her one season at each. She was a second-team NJCAA All-American at Indian River State College, as well, with averages of 14.1 points and 14.1 rebounds per game.
At Eastern Florida State College, she was a first-team NJCAA All-American and Central Conference Player of the Year.
With the Panthers, she averaged 4.7 points per game on 46.4% shooting from the field and no attempted 3-pointers. At 6-foot-1, she grabbed 6.2 rebounds per match.
Ayodele appeared in 32 matches while starting in 15.
Before beginning her college career, Ayodele played for CB Pozuelo in Spain's fourth tier 'Liga EBA.' In 17 games, she averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Ayodlele now joins Samara Spencer, Alyssa Latham, Lazaria Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn as incoming transfers. Other notable returners include Jewel Spear, Destinee Wells, Talaysia Cooper, Jillian Hollingshead, Sara Puckett, Kaiya Wynn and others.
Rickea Jackson, Jasmine Powell and Tamari Key are moving on from their collegiate careers, as well. Karoline Striplin is the only outgoing transfer. She chose Indiana out of the portal.
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