10/29/2026 4:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team will look very different than last season as it takes the court Nov. 2 at the Kathleen & Tom Elam Center for its 2026-27 season opener against Eastern Kentucky. The Skyhawks have just two returners this season and 12 newcomers.
"On paper, we could be really good. We could be really fun and exciting," said head coach Kevin McMillan, who enters his 18th season, of the new season
"I think it will be a learning process. I think the team you see November 3 is going to be vastly different from the team you see on December the 15th. And then it's going to be vastly different from the team you see on February 1st. So I think that as coaches, we're going to have to be patient. Sure, there will be some growing pains there, but everybody's got a chance to help us. We have some depth, we have some size, we have some quickness and we have some shooters."
Returning for UT Martin this season are Sidni Middleton and Kennedy Horton. Middleton was a three-time OVC Freshman of the Week last season who averaged 9.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Meanwhile, Horton appeared in 29 of 30 games for the Skyhawks and averaged 10.4 minutes per game.
Of the 12 newcomers, there are three Division I transfers, a Division II transfer, four junior college transfers and four true freshmen.
Two of the transferers have already earned accolades going into the new season, as Tyler Jones and Raven Sims were named OVC Players to Watch. Jones joins the Skyhawks after spending a season at New Mexico, while Sims started her career at Memphis for two seasons, followed by one season at Niagara. Chloe Chard Peloquin also joins UT Martin after two seasons at Canisius and two seasons at Wright State.
Also, joining the Skyhawks for 2026-27 is Chard Peloquin's sister, Sophie, who transferred from Division II Findlay. Four junior college players will also don the blue and orange this season Mimi Lazarevic, Angela Mirkovic, Madeline Penney and Alorian Story, a 2025-26 NJCAA All-American.
Story averaged 16.1 points and 13.4 rebounds per game last season and tallied double-doubles in 25 of 32 games for Northwest Mississippi CC. Lazarevic and Mirkovic both come to UT Martin from Eastern Florida State College, where the pair of Serbian natives averaged 16.0 and 9.5 points per game, respectively. Meanwhile, Penney averaged 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in her sophomore season at Tallahassee State College.
The four freshmen making their collegiate debuts for UT Martin this season are Olivia Smith, Na'Kayhjah Holman, Lily Espelet and Curnesha Taylor. Holman, Espelet and Taylor were all Top 100-ranked players in the state of Tennessee, while Smith was the 10th-ranked player in Mississippi.
The Skyhawks' upcoming non-conference schedule features 16 total games: seven home, seven away, and the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida.
Perhaps no game on the non-conference schedule looms larger than the Nov. 8 visit from SEC power Mississippi State. The game marks the fourth straight season and the fifth time in the last six seasons that a Power Four school has visited the Elam Center. The Skyhawks hosted Tennessee last season, Louisville in 2024-25, Vanderbilt in 2023-24 and the Bulldogs in 2021-22.
UT Martin officially opens its 2026-27 schedule Nov. 2 at home when it welcomes former Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky. This season, the Skyhawks will also host Christian Brothers Nov. 5, Butler Nov. 15, Champion Christian Nov. 18, North Alabama Dec. 5 and Southern Arkansas Dec. 13.
Following the non-conference portion of its schedule, the Skyhawks will enter their 18-game OVC schedule, a race that McMillan believes his team can have a real chance in once they get going.
"We're going to lose some games early, but if we figure it out and if they will buy in, oh Lord, this bunch could be really scary in conference play."
"On paper, we could be really good. We could be really fun and exciting," said head coach Kevin McMillan, who enters his 18th season, of the new season
"I think it will be a learning process. I think the team you see November 3 is going to be vastly different from the team you see on December the 15th. And then it's going to be vastly different from the team you see on February 1st. So I think that as coaches, we're going to have to be patient. Sure, there will be some growing pains there, but everybody's got a chance to help us. We have some depth, we have some size, we have some quickness and we have some shooters."
Returning for UT Martin this season are Sidni Middleton and Kennedy Horton. Middleton was a three-time OVC Freshman of the Week last season who averaged 9.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Meanwhile, Horton appeared in 29 of 30 games for the Skyhawks and averaged 10.4 minutes per game.
Of the 12 newcomers, there are three Division I transfers, a Division II transfer, four junior college transfers and four true freshmen.
Two of the transferers have already earned accolades going into the new season, as Tyler Jones and Raven Sims were named OVC Players to Watch. Jones joins the Skyhawks after spending a season at New Mexico, while Sims started her career at Memphis for two seasons, followed by one season at Niagara. Chloe Chard Peloquin also joins UT Martin after two seasons at Canisius and two seasons at Wright State.
Also, joining the Skyhawks for 2026-27 is Chard Peloquin's sister, Sophie, who transferred from Division II Findlay. Four junior college players will also don the blue and orange this season Mimi Lazarevic, Angela Mirkovic, Madeline Penney and Alorian Story, a 2025-26 NJCAA All-American.
Story averaged 16.1 points and 13.4 rebounds per game last season and tallied double-doubles in 25 of 32 games for Northwest Mississippi CC. Lazarevic and Mirkovic both come to UT Martin from Eastern Florida State College, where the pair of Serbian natives averaged 16.0 and 9.5 points per game, respectively. Meanwhile, Penney averaged 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in her sophomore season at Tallahassee State College.
The four freshmen making their collegiate debuts for UT Martin this season are Olivia Smith, Na'Kayhjah Holman, Lily Espelet and Curnesha Taylor. Holman, Espelet and Taylor were all Top 100-ranked players in the state of Tennessee, while Smith was the 10th-ranked player in Mississippi.
The Skyhawks' upcoming non-conference schedule features 16 total games: seven home, seven away, and the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida.
Perhaps no game on the non-conference schedule looms larger than the Nov. 8 visit from SEC power Mississippi State. The game marks the fourth straight season and the fifth time in the last six seasons that a Power Four school has visited the Elam Center. The Skyhawks hosted Tennessee last season, Louisville in 2024-25, Vanderbilt in 2023-24 and the Bulldogs in 2021-22.
UT Martin officially opens its 2026-27 schedule Nov. 2 at home when it welcomes former Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky. This season, the Skyhawks will also host Christian Brothers Nov. 5, Butler Nov. 15, Champion Christian Nov. 18, North Alabama Dec. 5 and Southern Arkansas Dec. 13.
Following the non-conference portion of its schedule, the Skyhawks will enter their 18-game OVC schedule, a race that McMillan believes his team can have a real chance in once they get going.
"We're going to lose some games early, but if we figure it out and if they will buy in, oh Lord, this bunch could be really scary in conference play."
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