KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper announced Thursday that Australian three-point specialist Jessie Rennie has signed a National Letter of Intent during the spring signing period to play for the Lady Vol program, beginning with the 2019-20 season.
UT’s third-ever international player (Cheridene Green/England, Lou Brown/Australia) joins three other 2019 signees who comprise a recruiting class currently ranked No. 9 in the United States and third in the Southeastern Conference by espnW HoopGurlz.
Rennie, a 5-foot-6 guard who hails from Kangaroo Flat in the Australian state of Victoria, attended Bendigo Senior Secondary College. She has competed for the Bendigo Spirit of the Women’s National Basketball League and the Bendigo Lady Braves of the South East Australian Basketball League.
Despite her youth compared to the other participants, Rennie rose through the ranks of the club circuit to earn a roster spot with the Bendigo Lady Braves. She played in 10 games her first year in 2016, hitting 14 of 39 field goals (.359), including 13 of 34 beyond the arc (.382). She was a perfect two of two from the free throw line and averaged 4.3 points per game.
In 2017, she saw duty in 25 games, connecting on 56 of 128 field goal tries (.438), knocking down 32 of 88 (.364) shots from beyond the arc. She was 11 of 12 at the charity stripe and averaged 6.2 points per contest. Rennie missed all of the 2018 season after suffering a torn ACL but has since recovered.
Rennie first started playing for the Bendigo Lady Braves at the U14 level. She then played for the U16 Victoria Country team before representing her nation during a tournament in New Zealand. She has managed a blossoming basketball career while living with Type I Diabetes.
“We are happy to be adding Jessie Rennie to the Lady Vol family,” Harper said. “My staff and I look forward to getting to work with all four of our incoming freshmen when they arrive on campus in May.”
Fall signees include the nation’s consensus No. 1 guard and No. 2 overall player, 6-foot-2 Jordan Horston (Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Africentric Early College), as well as 6-5 center Tamari Key (Cary, N.C. / Cary H.S./No. 46 by espnW HoopGurlz) and 6-5 F/C Emily Saunders (Mullens, W.Va./Wyoming East H.S./No. 88 by ProspectsNation). Like Horston, Key is a five-star recruit, according to espnW HoopGurlz, while Saunders is a four-star prospect, as rated by ProspectsNation.com.
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