The Lady Vols are back on the board with a new recruit only days after nearly every player on the team graduated or entered the transfor portal. While the latter news was likely pretty tough for the program to take, signing Liberty's Avery Mills offers insight into the kind of roster Coach Kim Caldwell may be trying to put together.
Mills played against the Lady Vols back in November 2024, when the Liberty Flames lost 109-93. That game gave Mills a glimpse into what a Caldwell-led Tennessee was like, and also gave Caldwell and her coaching staff the chance to see Mills in action. Mills averaged 15.3 points per game last season, and lead her team in scoring. She also took home First-Team All Conference honors.
Moving into the SEC wil be a leap for Mills, but if it's one she's prepared for, she has the chance to become both the face of a team in an intense period of regrowth as well as proof that Caldwell's system can work at the Divison I level. Mills brings excellent three-point shooting skills to a program that basically mandates them, and will be hungry to prove herself at this level of play.
Introduction to the SEC might not be easy for her at first, but Mills represents the kind of player Caldwell might need: someone who is skilled but has room to grow, who will commit to a style of play that may be a radical departure from what they've done before, and someone who is enthusiastic and ready to hit the court hard. She's already proven that she's disciplined and experienced (Mills was the only Liberty freshman to appear in all 33 games) and that she has the ability to score (she hit double digits during that game against Tennessee last year).
The move is a wise one for Mills, too, especially if she hopes to take her colliegate game to the next level. She'll be introduced to fans, players, and coaches across the SEC, and she'll have the opportunity to show what she can do on one of college basketball's biggest stages. That this will happen under the Lady Vols umbrella adds a bit of history and legend to what may well prove to be the smartest decision of her collegiate career.
With the addition of Mills, the Lady Vols now have two players on the roster (Gabby Minus committed to the program in November 2025), and plenty of time to keep growing.