The University of Tennessee announced Friday that 6-foot-3 forward Faith Dupree is leaving the Lady Vols basketball program and plans to transfer to UT-Chattanooga.
A redshirt freshman from Knoxville Webb, Dupree will remain at UT through the end of the fall semester and will begin school at UTC in January.
“I have been thinking about this all summer,” Dupree said in a release sent out by UT. “There is never a good time to make a decision like this, but I feel like it will be in my best interest to pursue an opportunity where I can be a major contributor in the post.”
The Lady Mocs need post help after Michelle Davis and Erin Helton, who would have been sophomores this season, left the program. UTC, which begins preseason practice Monday, does not have a returning post player from last season.
Because she has not yet signed with UTC, coach Wes Moore is not allowed to comment on her situation.
Dupree would be eligible starting in January 2012, and she will have two years of eligibility remaining after that.
Last season, before having her season cut short due to a back injury, Dupree appeared in two games. In her best outing, she had five points, six rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes against Texas Tech.
Her sister Emily is a senior volleyball player at Covenant College.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeat.