Former Lady Vols guard Avery Strickland Hurst may not be done with college basketball just yet.
According to a report from Talia Goodman, Strickland Hurst has entered the transfer portal again as she looks to secure a fifth year of eligibility in the wake of the recent class of 2022 lawsuits.
Her path has already taken her through three programs. Strickland Hurst began at Pitt, where she appeared in 30 games with 11 starts as a freshman and averaged 6.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game. She then landed at Tennessee, joining the Lady Vols under Kellie Harper as a sophomore in the 2023-24 season.
That first Tennessee year was limited by injuries. Strickland Hurst played in 20 games and averaged just under one point and one rebound per contest after missing much of the non-conference schedule because of a pair of injuries.
She stayed with Tennessee through the coaching change and was on Kim Caldwell’s first Lady Vols roster in 2024-25. Her production ticked up to 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 19 games, and she saw a little more run late in the year. Strickland Hurst logged 11 minutes in Tennessee’s SEC Tournament game against Texas A&M, but she didn’t get back to that mark again during the SEC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament.
After that Sweet 16 run, Strickland Hurst entered the portal and transferred to Belmont. She made the most of that move, averaging 13.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 44.2% from the field. One of her stronger outings came against her former team, when she scored 14 points in Belmont’s 68-58 loss in Knoxville.
Strickland Hurst, who is from Knoxville, starred at Farragut High School in basketball, softball and track and field. She played her Tennessee seasons under the last name Strickland before taking the name Hurst after marrying former Vols basketball player Grant Hurst this summer. Grant Hurst is now an assistant coach for the Kansas City Monarchs.
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