By Jamie H. Vaught

KySportsStyle.com Magazine

 

Moments after Whitney Caldwell, representing the University of the Cumberlands, was chosen as the queen of the 2024 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival last May, she remembers a very special moment when she saw her parents, Shannon and Ronnie Caldwell.

“There were a lot of (KMLF memories), but number one was when I was walking down at the (Laurel) Cove and I saw my mom and dad. My dad’s not a very emotional person, but I could see he had big crocodile tears,” recalled Caldwell in a recent interview. “Of course, my mom is emotional. She was sobbing. And it just kind of made me feel proud as I’m moving out of the house and doing all these sorts of things, like to give them kind of one last ‘your little girl moment’ and make them feel proud as well.”

Before becoming the KMLF queen, Caldwell, a Pineville native who was selected over 15 queen candidates from various universities and colleges in Kentucky as well as Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., had just graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science at UC.

Now, she is working on her doctorate for physical therapy, also at the University of the Cumberlands. She is expected to finish her graduate work by December 2026 when she will have a new title, Dr. Caldwell.

Why study physical therapy?

“Growing up, I played a lot of sports, and while playing sports you get quite a bit of injuries and stuff like that,” said Caldwell, a former basketball star who played at Pineville High School before playing three more years at UC in NAIA Division I. “So, I had to go to physical therapy a few times. When I was there, I just loved it. … the interaction you had with the therapist. I noticed how they changed my life and other people’s life, and I figured it would be a great way to give back in a certain way and still be able to help people live the best life that they possibly can.”

Caldwell began her high school basketball career as an eighth grader at Pineville High and eventually became one of the top players in the 13th Region and the state of Kentucky. She helped the Lady Lions win two straight 51st District tournament championship in 2020 and 2021.

As a 5-foot-8 senior guard, Caldwell once had a rare quadruple-double (in four of the five major statistical categories) in 2021. Against Barbourville, she had 22 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 11 steals.

“I remember that game specifically because I left and thought I played bad,” said Caldwell. “I was never the one to be like, ‘Oh, I have to get this many stats or get this or whatever.’ But I was mad. I don’t remember if I had missed a few shots that I should have hit or something. But I walked out of there and I was mad. I remember my mom and one of my assistant coaches came up and they were like ‘Whitney, look.’ They showed me the little scoresheet thing. They were like ‘You did perfectly fine. Give yourself a break.’ So, it was definitely one of those (odd moments). It caught me off guard when they told me that. But I love to compete, and I just thought I could have done better.”

Pineville later finished the 2020-21 season with a 15-5 mark, winning the district title before losing to Harlan County in the 13th Region Tournament.

Asked what attracted her to play at the University of the Cumberlands where she later earned a couple of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors, Caldwell said, “I would say definitely the culture of the team and the campus. It’s very faith centered, and that was important to me. And as well as the mentality of we’re here to do something, let’s do it to the best of our ability, and keep our focus on where we’re going and what our goals are. I know it pushed me to be a better person outside of basketball as well. It taught me a lot of life lessons. So, just definitely the culture they have in the team.”

In 2022, she went on a mission trip to Puerto Rico and stayed there for at least one week.

“I would say that the mission trip was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life,” said Caldwell. “Just going there and getting to talk about my faith, and share my story of how basketball kind of had a role in growing my faith. The people I’ve met and the things I’ve got to do because of basketball and my faith. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Meeting those kids and being able to learn from them, I think, as much as we taught them stuff, was something that was very special to me.

“And when we were there, there was no water. Their water company had slid off the side of the mountain, so all their water was coming through filtration from the rain. And we didn’t have any cell phone service, nothing. So, it was a big learning thing for us to come from where we were at and to where they’re at and to kind of see that shift. But they were just happy for us to be there, and it was amazing.”

With her playing days in organized basketball over, Caldwell occasionally plays golf and goes hunting. In addition, during the summer of 2023, she worked at Wasioto Winds golf course.

“I loved it,” she said of working at the golf course. “I grew up on the golf course. The first place my parents took me after I was born was the golf course. So, it was kind of a full circle moment to get to work out there, especially with my dad, and my brother, and my uncle (Donnie Caldwell). It meant a lot to me and I think it meant a lot to them that I could spend that time with them.”

On playing golf, Caldwell smiled, “I’m not going to say I’m the best, but I do enjoy it. (Her brother) Braxton definitely puts me to shame.”

On hunting, Caldwell said, “I used to go every deer season. My dad tried taking me squirrel hunting once, and he said he’d never take me back because it was not good. But I do try to go deer hunting every season.”

Growing up in southeastern Kentucky, Caldwell considered herself a tomboy. “Yeah, for sure,” she said. “The majority of my cousins are guys. There are a few girls, but we all just kind of mix together. I would say I was quite the tomboy.”

On KMLF and Pineville, Caldwell added the town “always did make me feel special, but I think there’s a different honor that comes with being from here and representing the town, and it’s something that has been very special to me. I know a lot of other people have come and told me certain things and it just makes you feel good to give back to someone that’s given you a lot.”

As the reigning KMLF queen, Caldwell will make appearances at the four-day festival (May 22-25). A new queen for 2025 will be chosen at the Queen’s Coronation at Laurel Cove, a natural amphitheater in Pine Mountain State Resort Park, on Saturday, May 24.

Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About The Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro., he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com.