When Karen Weekly got out of her coaches’ meeting Saturday, Tennessee softball players were already filing into the clubhouse.

The two-hour meeting ended at 10:30 a.m. and practice wasn’t supposed to start until 1 p.m. Weekly saw players putting on practice gear, and she asked them, “What are you guys doing?”

“They said, ‘Oh, we have a team meeting at 11:30,’ ” Weekly said Sunday. “They went in and had a meeting and some of them went out and started to get extra work. And I didn’t ask what their meeting was about, but I have a feeling it was, ‘Hey, we don’t want to be feeling the way we felt Thursday anymore. Let’s get to work and make sure that doesn’t happen.’ “

The “feeling” Weekly described came after No. 1 seeded UT bowed out of the SEC Tournament on Thursday after one game, losing to No. 8 seed LSU. The Lady Vols (40-10), who won their second straight SEC regular-season championship, are more determined than ever going into the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee was selected as the No. 3 national seed on Sunday, the highest seeding in program history and will face Dayton (33-19) on Friday (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Miami (Ohio) and Virginia are the other two teams Tennessee will host in Knoxville.

It spoke volumes to Weekly that her team took it upon themselves to get things squared away on their own.

“It’s really gratifying,” Weekly said. “That’s when you know that your players are doing the leading. If I had told them, ‘Hey, you need to get in here and you need to do this, that,’ it would have been, it’s a have to, not a want to. When the players are initiating it, it’s a want to.”

Weekly still has upperclassmen who remember how it felt to be upset at home in the NCAA regional two seasons ago. For seniors like Kiki Milloy and Rylie West, it doesn’t take long for the bitterness to “swell up inside pretty fast” when thinking about those years, Weekly said, just like it does in her.

Weekly didn’t realize Tennessee had secured the highest seeding in program history, which beat last year’s highest seeding of No. 4. She figured legendary pitcher Monica Abbott’s years with the Lady Vols led to higher seeds.

“But now that you say that, I remember being a little bitter about a 7-seed when we were ranked number one all year (with Abbott),” Weekly joked. “I am very proud of this program. Obviously, I’ve invested a lot of years and a lot of my life and my time into Lady Vols softball, but it’s not just me … it’s everybody, and ultimately, it’s all about the players. Every win that we get is because the players go out there and win.”

TORCHBEARER: Rylie West’s dad saw potential that led to Tennessee softball career. But first he told her to quit

Tennessee brought back a strong core of veterans from last season’s run to the Women’s College World Series semifinal. Weekly doesn’t have to tell them how to spend their extra time now with classes over, and she doesn’t have to tell them to meet on their own. The players take it upon themselves, and they’re a step ahead of Weekly on a lot of things.

That kind of leadership is why the Lady Vols are primed for another successful postseason, starting with this weekend.

“It’s a player-led team,” Weekly said, “and we have some veterans who just understand how to win.”

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee baseball’s offense fell flat as the Vols dropped their series finale at Vanderbilt 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Led by JD Thompson, Vanderbilt’s pitching staff became the first team to shut out Tennessee all season long. Here’s everything to know about the series finale loss.

A Poor Outing For Zander Sechrist

Tennessee baseball needed a strong outing from starting pitcher Zander Sechrist after exhausting a good chunk of its reliable bullpen arms int he first two games of the weekend series.

Things couldn’t have started better for Sechrist as the left-handed pitcher struck out the first two Vanderbilt batters he faced.

But things went poorly from there for the left-handed pitcher. RJ Austin gave Vanderbilt a two-out baserunner with a single to right field and then Alan Espinal took Sechrist deep for a two-run homer an at-bat later.

Vanderbilt added another run in the second inning when a Jonathan Vastine blooper dropped in right field for a two-out RBI single.

Tennessee went to the bullpen to open the third inning making it a three-run, two inning outing for Sechrist. The lack of offensive production compounded the issue but it was still a poor outing for Sechrist.

JD Thompson Tosses A Gem For Vanderbilt

Sunday’s matchup was the only game that Vanderbilt didn’t announce its starting pitcher before the series. But JD Thompson one upped already strong outings from Bryce Cunningham and Carter Holton the first two games of the weekend series.

The left-handed pitcher came out dialed in striking out the side in the top of the first inning. It jumpstarted what was a fantastic outing for Thompson. He allowed just two hits while striking out nine Vols in six shutout innings. His one shortcoming was a somewhat shaky command— three walks and two hit batters. But it mattered little as he worked his way out of the few tight spots he found himself in.

Tennessee didn’t oft threaten against Thompson. The Vols came their closest to adding a run in the fifth inning when Hunter Ensley worked a leadoff walk and Dean Curley was hit-by a pitch. But then Thompson struck out both Robin Villeneuve and Cal Stark before getting a Christian Moore fly out to get out of the inning.

Vanderbilt needed a series finale win to salvage the weekend badly. Thompson answered the bell and held down a fantastic Tennessee offense.

More From RTI: Play-By-Play Of Tennessee Baseball’s Series Finale Loss At Vanderbilt

Strong Nate Snead Outing Keeps Tennessee In Striking Distance

After throwing just three pitches to get the final two outs of game two of the weekend series, Tennessee called upon Nate Snead to relieve Sechrist has he’s done almost every weekend this season.

Snead turned in a strong long relief outing in the series finale, allowing no runs on five hits and one walk in 4.1 innings of relief. The flame throwing right hander struck out four Commodores batters in what was a stout appearance.

The transfer pitcher showed the importance of Tennessee using his versatility out of the bullpen over the weekend as he both closed a game and was an effective long reliever.

Snead’s strong outing was good enough to keep Tennessee within striking distance but it mattered little on a quiet afternoon for the Vols’ offense.

Box Score

Up Next

Tennessee baseball returns to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday night where they will face the Belmont Bruins. First pitch for the final midweek game of the season is at 5 p.m. ET. SEC Network+ is streaming the game.

The Los Angeles Chargers added a former Tennessee Titans edge rusher, inking Bud Dupree to a two-year deal, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Dupree, a first-round pick in 2015, spent last season with the Atlanta Falcons after two years with the Titans. During his time in Tennessee, he recorded seven sacks, eight tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits, starting 17 of his 22 games.

After his release from the Titans, Dupree went South to Atlanta where he started all 16 games he played in, recording 6.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss. He hit the open market once again, considering a reunion with the Pittsburgh Steelers and re-signing with the Falcons, but ultimately ending up in Los Angeles.

Dupree will now be part of a three-man rotation with Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. At 31-years-old, he’ll enter his 10th NFL season, looking to add to his 53 career sacks.

Make sure you bookmark All Titans for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!