Rackham Watt Shares Coach of the Year, Fingall Repeats as Scholar-Athlete to Highlight Lady Vols with SEC Yearly Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee head coach Eve Rackham Watt and graduate student right side Morgahn Fingall earned individual SEC yearly honors to highlight the Lady Vols for the conference awards.

Representing the Big Orange, Rackham Watt received Co-SEC Coach of the Year, while Fingall repeated as Co-SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Fingall along with redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr and graduate student outside hitter Jenaisya Moore were selected for the All-SEC Team. Kerr was also placed on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Rackham Watt became the fourth coach in Tennessee history to earn conference coach of the year honors after leading the Lady Vols to one of their best seasons in program history with a 24-4 overall record and 15-3 effort in league play to finish second in the SEC.

During the season, Rackham Watt helped UT climbed to No. 8 in the AVCA polls—the second-highest ranking in program history. The Lady Vols boast one of the nation's best offenses, ranking inside the top five in the country and leading the SEC in kills per set (2nd/14.79), assists per set (3rd/13.57) and hitting percentage (5th/.304).

The Big Orange swept 17 opponents on the year, including 10 contests during league play, and lost just 15 sets in 18 matches during conference play. Tennessee defeated four top-25 teams on the season, including road wins at No. 20 Florida, No. 22 Kentucky and No. 24 Marquette. UT boasted an impressive 11-2 when playing on the road and finished with an 8-1 record in away SEC matches.

Rackham Watt is the first coach since 2011 to win SEC Coach of the Year for Tennessee. She joins Bob Burtucci (1984), Sandy Lynn (1987, 1988) and Rob Patrick (2004, 2008, 2011) as the fourth coach in program history to earn the honor.

For the second year in a row, Fingall received SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, as the Fairfax, Va., native excelled on the court and in the classroom. Academically, she earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology with a minor in public health and is currently pursuing a master's in public health while boasting a 3.80 GPA. She was a 2022 CSC Academic All-District Team honoree and four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection.

In competition this year, Fingall earned AVCA National Player of the Week recognition, brought home SEC Player of the Week honors twice and was three times named SEC Offensive Player of the Week to earn All-SEC honors for the second season in a row. She averaged 4.92 points, 4.24 kills, 1.83 digs, 0.74 blocks and 0.31 aces per set while hitting .322 this year. Those numbers improved to 5.23 points, 4.56 kills, 2.17 digs and 0.88 blocks per set when facing AVCA Top 50 teams. She owned an SEC-leading 4.38 kills per set during conference play.

Fingall ranks second in the SEC in kills per set, third in points per set and 10th in hitting percentage. She sits inside the top 35 nationally in both kills and points per set. On the season, she's been a do-it-all player for the Big Orange, recording double-digit kills in 24 matches this season, including five 20-kill performances, posting five double-doubles on the year, notching multiple aces in eight contests and finishing three matches with at least five blocks.

One of the best setters in the country, Kerr earned her spots on the All-SEC and All-Freshman Teams after averaging 11.65 assists, 2.02 digs, 0.68 kills, 0.37 blocks and 0.32 aces per set this year. She earned 11 SEC weekly honors this season, including seven SEC Freshman of the Week and two SEC Player and Setter of the Week awards each.

The Champaign, Ill., native ranks fourth nationally, second in the SEC and leads all NCAA freshmen in assists per set (11.65). Kerr posted 30 or more assists in all but two matches this season, including 12 40-assist efforts and four 50-assist performances. She posted four double-doubles on the year, seven outings with multiple aces and six matches with multiple blocks.

When playing top-25 teams, Kerr averaged 12.15 assists and 2.26 digs per set. She finished with a career-high 55 assists against No. 1 Wisconsin. She recorded the most assists in a 3-set match in the SEC this season with 48 during UT's sweep at No. 24 Marquette, and she notched 44 assists during Tennessee's sweep at No. 22 Kentucky.

In her lone season with the Lady Vols, Moore made a huge impact in helping elevate the UT offense. She averaged 3.94 points, 3.63 kills, 1.37 digs and 0.41 blocks pet set while hitting .304 on the year. She ranks eighth in the SEC in kills per set and ninth in points per set.

The Germantown, Md., native posted double-digit kills in 20 matches this season, including a pair of 20-kill efforts. Moore's second on the team in kills behind Fingall, as the duo is one of the best in the SEC.

Moore shined during the Lady Vols' victory at No. 20 Florida, recording career bests in kills (23) and digs (16) to earn her second double-double of the season and posting six kills on .750 hitting in the fifth set. She was tabbed SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after notching 33 kills on .526 hitting and just three errors on 57 attacks in wins against Georgia and Ole Miss. She recorded 17 kills on .371 hitting, seven digs and two assists during UT's road sweep against Texas A&M.

Fingall, Kerr and Moore spearhead the Lady Vol offensive attack that top five nationally and leads the SEC in kills per set, assists per set and hitting percentage. Tennessee's three All-SEC selections this year were the most in a season since having five in 2011.

Up next, Tennessee will head to the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row. The Lady Vols, who have positioned themselves in a spot to host the first and second rounds, will learn their opening opponent Sunday night during the selection show on ESPN at 6 p.m.

2023 SEC Yearly Honors
All-SEC Team
Jill Gillen, Arkansas
Taylor Head, Arkansas
Hannah Hogue, Arkansas
Madison Scheer, Auburn
Kennedy Martin, Florida
Kacie Evans, Georgia
Sophie Fischer, Georgia
Eleanor Beavin, Kentucky
Brooklyn DeLeye, Kentucky
Emma Grome, Kentucky
Reagan Rutherford, Kentucky
Azhani Tealer, Kentucky
Jordan Iliff, Missouri
Maya Sands, Missouri
Morgahn Fingall, Tennessee
Caroline Kerr, Tennessee
Jenaisya Moore, Tennessee
Logan Lednicky, Texas A&M

All-Freshman Team
Kennedy Martin, Florida
Brooklyn DeLeye, Kentucky
Molly Tuozzo, Kentucky
Jurnee Robinson, LSU
Sierra Dudley, Missouri
Caroline Kerr, Tennessee
Bianna Muoneke, Texas A&M

Player of the Year: Sophie Fischer, Georgia
Libero of the Year: Maya Sands, Missouri
Freshman of the Year: Brooklyn DeLeye, Kentucky
Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Morgahn Fingall, Tennessee & Hannah Hogue, Arkansas
Coaches of the Year: Eve Rackham Watt, Tennessee; Jason Watson, Arkansas; Craig Skinner, Kentucky;
Dawn Sullivan, Missouri

University of Tennessee Athletics

Rackham Watt Shares Coach of the Year, Fingall Repeats as Scholar-Athlete to Highlight Lady Vols with SEC Yearly Honors

Players Mentioned

Morgahn Fingall

Caroline Kerr

Jenaisya Moore

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