ESPN’s College GameDay is headed to Knoxville, Tennessee for the highly anticipated Week 3 matchup between the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs. And on Thursday, it was revealed that a University of Tennessee legend with extensive experience in front of a camera will be on hand to serve as the celebrity guest picker on the show.
In a video on social media from the College GameDay X account, Former Tennessee women’s basketball star Candace Parker, who helped bring two National Championships to Knoxville during her illustrious collegiate career, informed Volunteer fans that she would serve as the guest picker on GameDay in Week 3.
“What’s up, it’s your girl Candace Parker,” said Parker. “Proud alum of the University of Tennessee. Proud alum of the University of Tennessee. If you cut me, I bleed orange. And that’s why I am so excited that College GameDay is coming to Knoxville as the University of Tennessee Volunteers take on the Georgia Dogs. And guess what, you are looking at your next College GameDay celebrity guest picker.
“I am so excited to let the world in on a little secret that 100,000 screaming fans in Neyland (Stadium) will know on Saturday. That the Tennessee Volunteers are going to shock the world and end the ten-year drought. Joshua Dobbs, 2016, threw that Hail Mary. And there is a new Josh that is gonna take down the dogs, and that is Coach Heupel. High octane offense, solid defense, we’re ready. I’m calling it right now, so I’m looking forward to see you on Saturday.”
A true Tennessee legend 👏@Candace_Parker won two national titles with the Lady Vols and now she’s coming back to Knoxville as this weekend’s guest picker 🍊 pic.twitter.com/SWSkLdE7Ax
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 11, 2025
Parker has, of course, gone on to do great things since her collegiate career, starring in the WNBA for 16 years before ultimately retiring from the sport of basketball after the 2023 season.
Additionally, Parker has remained in the public eye since her retirement with several ventures in the sports media industry, serving as a key figure on TNT’s coverage of the WNBA since 2018. Now that TNT no longer has broadcast rights to cover live events in the NBA, Parker is set to make her debut for Amazon on Prime Video’s debut season covering the NBA, as she will serve as a game and studio analyst during the 2025-26 season.
Despite this, Parker is far from done at TNT, agreeing to a multi-year extension with the network in August to continue her coverage of the NCAA Tournament for years to come.
Though Parker has never been a guest picker on College GameDay, she certainly profiles to be an excellent pick for the role, given her experience as a studio analyst covering the NBA. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that she should have the full support of thousands of Tennessee fans who come prepared to root on their Volunteers in their matchup against Georgia.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.