BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kayla and Michael Tennant are super Vol fans from Bristol, TN. From their wedding colors—orange and white—to getting their engagement photos inside Neyland Stadium, almost everything revolves around Tennessee sports.
It all started when Kayla was growing up.
"When I grew up, My family loved the Vols," said Kayla. "They bleed orange, they always have, so that's just the way I was born."
Although Michael is also from Tennessee, his love for Vol sports came after he met Kayla. She attended UT for college, then moved back home and met Michael. He was more into NASCAR before becoming a big Tennessee fan.
"He was married into it," said Kayla. "Once we got married, he had no other choice; now, he just bleeds orange, too."
After their wedding, the Tennants started trying to get pregnant with their first child. Four years later, after a miscarriage, the couple finally got positive results using the IVF process.
Family members were thrilled for Kayla and Michael, so they planned the most epic Tennessee fan gender reveal they could ever imagine.
"They wrote it on a piece of paper for us when we found out everything was positive," said Kayla. "I gave it to my sister, and she started emailing and reaching out on social media to different players."
Two Tennessee fan favorites, basketball guard Zakai Zeigler and baseball pitcher Kirby Connell, revealed the baby's gender. Kayla and Michael were excited and thankful to receive personal videos from the players.
Zeigler and Connell each congratulated the couple on the pregnancy and revealed their first baby would be a "Lady Vol."
"To have them take the time out of their day, for us, was pretty amazing," said Michael.
Kayla was not expecting one of her favorite Tennessee players to send the video within one day of her sister reaching out.
"We were shocked," said Kayla. We knew it was going to be someone, but Zeigler's my favorite on the basketball team, so I was super shocked that it was him."
The Tennant's first Lady Vol is due on January 2nd, 2025.