KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Former Tennessee women's basketball player Tasha Butts has passed away at the age of 41 after a battle with breast cancer, the school announced on Monday.
Butts played at Tennessee from 2000 to 2004. She helped UT to win four SEC regular season titles and advance to three NCAA Final Fours.
Butts averaged 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds for her career and played the seventh most games all-time ever by a Lady Vol. As a senior, she averaged a career-best 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists—which earned her Coaches All-SEC Second Team honors.
Butts was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.
"Our program is heartbroken to lose a member of our Lady Vol sisterhood much, much too soon," Lady Vols Head Coach Kellie Harper said. "Tasha was the type of person who connected with people everywhere she went. She had such a positive impact not only on our Tennessee family but on women's basketball as a whole. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of her family and friends during this extremely difficult time."
After her playing career, Butts was a graduate assistant for the Lady Vols under Pat Summitt in the 2004-2005 season. After serving as an assistant and then associate head coach for several years, she was named the head coach at Georgetown in April 2023.
