After entering the transfer portal on Apr. 3 following the Lady Vols’ trip to the Sweet 16, former Tennessee guard Avery Strickland has emerged with an in-state program.
Strickland announced her commitment to Belmont through a social media post on Sunday.
The former Knoxville native (Farragut High School) will only have to travel about 180 miles west to her next destination.
“Nashville here I come!” Strickland posted to Instagram on Sunday afternoon.
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A Top 100 player on the high school scene, Strickland initially began her collegiate career as a freshman at Pitt during the 2022-2023 season. Strickland played in 30 games that season with 11 starts and averaged 6.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 20.1 minutes on the court throughout the year.
Following her lone season in Pittsburgh, Strickland transferred to Tennessee to return to her home state. As a sophomore during Kellie Harper’s final season in 2023-2024, Strickland averaged just under one point and one rebound per game in 20 contests. The 5-foot-10 guard’s season hit a roadblock early on as she missed much of the non-conference slate due to a pair of injuries.
Strickland remained with Tennessee through the head coaching turnover and was part of Kim Caldwell’s first Lady Vols team this past season. Strickland averaged 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 19 contests this season and found a bit more of an elevated role late in the year. Strickland hit 11 minutes on the court during the Lady Vols’ SEC Tournament game against Texas A&M but didn’t reach that mark again for the rest of the SEC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament.
Now a rising senior, Strickland will look to make an impact with her new team in the Volunteer State. Belmont went 26-13 last season and fell to Minnesota in the 2025 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament championship game this spring. Belmont had the 3-seed in the WBIT after a runner-up finish in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
“Tennessee – Thank you for two unforgettable years on the court,” Strickland wrote in her portal announcement from Apr. 3. “It’s been an honor to represent this program and legacy. I will always love and cherish the time I spent here. From a young age, it was a dream of mine to be a Lady Vol, and living out that dream has been incredible.”
One Response
Nico to me just my opinion is listening to his father so his father is living his football dreams through nico and this is a team sport he hasn’t done that much and how ungrateful can you be God blessed you with this talent plus 2 million you already have signed the contract that’s being greedy let’s see who wants to put up with the headache i don’t see too many teams.