Why a player exodus might save Tennessee women’s basketball | Opinion

This fall, when the Tennessee women's basketball takes the court for its 2026-27 campaign, Avery Mills, a 5'9" guard from Lynchburg, Virginia, will be clad in orange for the first time. Mills is transferring from Liberty University , where she led her team in scoring with 15. 3 points per game, along with four rebounds and 2.

2 assists. Mills will be joined by guard Naomi White, who is coming to Rocky Top from Northern Arizona . She, too, led her former team in scoring, averaging 20.

8 points, good enough for 15th in the country and the title of Big Sky Freshman of the Year. It is yet unclear who will join the two backcourt stars come November. As of this writing, Mills and White are the only two women’s basketball players on the Tennessee roster, thanks to a mass exodus following a disappointing 2025-26 season and first-round loss in the March Madness Tournament.

Opinion: Move the Grizzlies to Nashville? Tell us your thoughts For a program in freefall and a head coach, Kim Caldwell, now forced to rebuild from scratch, Mills and White represent the first pieces of a hopeful bounce back and return to women’s hoop dominance. More significantly, they're reflective of the upside of increased player movement – for Mills, White and others, but also for the struggling programs, like Tennessee, that need them.