Chelsey Perry Spotlighted As UT Martin’s Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Legend
2/11/2026 4:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Former University of Tennessee at Martin standout Chelsey Perry was named the newest Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Legend as the league unveiled its annual list today ahead of the 2026 OVC Championship tournament.
Perry is the 11th Skyhawk to join the OVC Basketball Legends initiative, which was founded in 2015 as a collaborative effort for the league championship tournament. Perry joins fellow UT Martin women's honorees Andreika Jackson (2024), Tara Tansil-Gentry (2022), Pat Head Summitt (2019), Jasmine Newsome (2017) and Heather Butler (2015) while Michael Hart (2025), DeWayne "Pooh" Powell (2023), Mike Meschede (2020), Jared Newson (2018) and Lester Hudson (2016) occupy the Skyhawk men's side.
Perry will be recognized through video board tributes and public address announcements throughout the 2026 OVC Basketball Championship tournament, which will be held on March 4-7 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
A Middleton, Tenn. native, Perry played from 2017-21 under UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan. The 6-2 forward was a two-time OVC Player of the Year and three-time All-OVC honoree, helping the Skyhawks to back-to-back league regular season championships during her junior and senior campaigns. She was a WBCA Coaches' All-American and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year finalist, rattling off an OVC record 13 Player of the Week accolades while also garnering a pair of National Mid-Major Player of the Week honors. She led the OVC in scoring in each of her final two seasons, topping all of NCAA Division I women's basketball in field goals made (286) while placing second in points scored (740) in 2019-20.
Perry became the first-ever UT Martin player to be selected in the WNBA Draft, going 26th overall to the Indiana Fever in 2021 – the highest pick of any OVC player in WNBA Draft history. She left as the Skyhawks' all-time leader in blocks (228) while still ranking in the top-five in school history in points (1,963, third), rebounds (768, fourth), field goals made (733, fourth) and free throws made (368, fifth).
In addition to Perry, the OVC Basketball Legends Class of 2026 includes Eastern Illinois' Sabina Oroszova (2011-15), Lindenwood's TJ Crockett (2017-21), Little Rock's Josh Hagins (2012-16), Morehead State's Angelo Warner (2011-15), Southeast Missouri's Tarina Nixon (2005-09), SIUE's Keil Peebles (1975-79), Southern Indiana's Eileen Weber (1994-98), Tennessee State's Tim Horton (1991-95), Tennessee Tech's Emily Christian (2002-06) and Western Illinois' Tiffany Cornelius Tyler (2000-04).
Perry is the 11th Skyhawk to join the OVC Basketball Legends initiative, which was founded in 2015 as a collaborative effort for the league championship tournament. Perry joins fellow UT Martin women's honorees Andreika Jackson (2024), Tara Tansil-Gentry (2022), Pat Head Summitt (2019), Jasmine Newsome (2017) and Heather Butler (2015) while Michael Hart (2025), DeWayne "Pooh" Powell (2023), Mike Meschede (2020), Jared Newson (2018) and Lester Hudson (2016) occupy the Skyhawk men's side.
Perry will be recognized through video board tributes and public address announcements throughout the 2026 OVC Basketball Championship tournament, which will be held on March 4-7 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
A Middleton, Tenn. native, Perry played from 2017-21 under UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan. The 6-2 forward was a two-time OVC Player of the Year and three-time All-OVC honoree, helping the Skyhawks to back-to-back league regular season championships during her junior and senior campaigns. She was a WBCA Coaches' All-American and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year finalist, rattling off an OVC record 13 Player of the Week accolades while also garnering a pair of National Mid-Major Player of the Week honors. She led the OVC in scoring in each of her final two seasons, topping all of NCAA Division I women's basketball in field goals made (286) while placing second in points scored (740) in 2019-20.
Perry became the first-ever UT Martin player to be selected in the WNBA Draft, going 26th overall to the Indiana Fever in 2021 – the highest pick of any OVC player in WNBA Draft history. She left as the Skyhawks' all-time leader in blocks (228) while still ranking in the top-five in school history in points (1,963, third), rebounds (768, fourth), field goals made (733, fourth) and free throws made (368, fifth).
In addition to Perry, the OVC Basketball Legends Class of 2026 includes Eastern Illinois' Sabina Oroszova (2011-15), Lindenwood's TJ Crockett (2017-21), Little Rock's Josh Hagins (2012-16), Morehead State's Angelo Warner (2011-15), Southeast Missouri's Tarina Nixon (2005-09), SIUE's Keil Peebles (1975-79), Southern Indiana's Eileen Weber (1994-98), Tennessee State's Tim Horton (1991-95), Tennessee Tech's Emily Christian (2002-06) and Western Illinois' Tiffany Cornelius Tyler (2000-04).
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