The Lady Vols have extended an offer to one of the top underclassmen in the country.
Ella Peper, a member of the ESPNW class of 2028 watch list that features the top 25 players in the cycle to this point, picked up the offer from Tennessee on May 2.
Peper, currently a freshman in high school, stands at 6-foot-4. With this height and athleticism, she is already dunking.Along with her offer from the Lady Vols, Peper picked up offers from Georgia and Maryland in the last week. They join Wisconsin, Ohio State, Missouri, Miami, Purdue, Kentucky, Florida State, Michigan State, Michigan, Wake Forest, Harvard, Penn State, Louisville, Columbia, Fairfield, Providence and Boston College to offer her already.
Peper is from Dexter School in Massachusetts. As a freshman, she helped lead the school to the NEPSAC Quarter Finals before falling.
Despite being in her first year of high school, she earned All-NEPSAC honors for her season.
In the spring and summer, Peper is playing with the Bay State Jaguars. The schedule runs from early April through late July. There, she is already impressing, including a 19-point game on April 26.Along with dunking, Peper is able to score at all three levels and is still mobile despite her size. This makes her a natural fit in Kim Caldwell’s system at Tennessee as she’d be asked to run the floor and guard the entire court on defense.
While her recruitment is still in its infancy, the Lady Vols getting in as one of the first schools could be an advantage in the coming years.
Caldwell and company have proven to be capable of closing deals on top recruits, as well. Tennessee just signed the No. 2 class in the country for the 2025 cycle according to ESPNW.
This includes 9th-ranked recruit Mia Pauldo who clocks in as the No. 4 point guard in the cycle. Playing in the McDonald’s All American game with Pauldo were 17th-ranked Deniya Prawl and 20th-ranked Jaida Civil.
The Lady Vols also hold commitments from Lauren Hurst and Mya Pauldo, both ranked inside the top 60.
This combines with ESPN naming Tennessee the No. 1 winner of the transfer portal cycle. The Lady Vols did not lose a game-by-game contributor and brought in Nya Robertson out of SMU, Janiah Barker out of UCLA and Jersey Wolfenbarger out of LSU.Georgia and Maryland in the last week. They join Wisconsin, Ohio State, Missouri, Miami, Purdue, Kentucky, Florida State, Michigan State, Michigan, Wake Forest, Harvard, Penn State, Louisville,
