MILLIGAN, Tenn. – The Milligan University women's basketball team come into the 2026-27 season with their sights set on continuing their yearly trips to the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament Championship, as well as earning yet another NAIA Tournament appearance.
The campaign starts at home this year, as the Buffaloes host the North Greenville University (S.C.) Trailblazers on Oct. 31 at 2 p.m.
2025-26 Season Review: Milligan's 2025-26 campaign was another hugely impressive display, as the squad was the outright AAC Regular Season Champion, as well as winners of the AAC Tournament title. They also made their third straight trip to the NAIA Tournament.
The Buffs' AAC Tournament run started as the No. 1 seed after MU went 19-1 in the regular season. They then won three games in a row during the AAC tourney, first toppling No. 9-seeded Montreat before handling No. 4-seeded Pikeville by three points and No. 3-seeded Reinhardt by a pair in the Final.
As an automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament, Milligan was selected to travel to Georgetown, Ky. to Georgetown College, where they would serve as a No. 13-seeded squad and play No. 4-seeded Loyola (La.) in the First Round. A tough first quarter put them down by 10 points early, and they could not climb out of that hole, eventually falling 87-79.
"We're proud of what our team was able to accomplish last year," said head coach Kylie Russell Greer. "We graduated a long list of great players and we are excited to see who all steps up this coming season."
During conference play, Milligan led the conference in scoring at 76.9 points per game, and tied for the best shooting percentage at 44.9%, even while attempting a conference-high 1,993 field goals. The team also forced opponents to shoot the three-point shot at just 27.1% for the year, which was also atop the AAC. Their rebounding was stellar, as well, as they held a +9.8-rebound margin on average for the season, the best in the conference.
2026-27 AAC Preseason Poll: The Buffs came in second of 14 teams in the 2026-27 AAC Preseason Poll and received four first-place votes.
The 2026-27 AAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Team - Total Points (1st-Place Votes)
1. Reinhardt (5) - 179
2. Milligan (4) - 176
3. Pikeville (5) - 173
4. Johnson - 150
5. Tennessee Wesleyan - 148
6. Bryan - 102
7. Spartanburg Methodist - 100
8. Brenau - 96
9. Columbia - 89
10. Union Commonwealth - 77
11. Montreat - 75
12. Truett McConnell - 47
13. Columbia International - 34
14. Bluefield - 24
Key Returners: A group of 12 players will be returning to the roster as players in 2026-27. Additionally, Kenzie Campbell, has joined the coaching staff after graduating in the spring of 2026.
Lina Lyon, the Buffs' fourth-highest scorer on average in 2025-26, will be expected to take a leap in her senior season. The shifty point guard averaged 8.5 points last year, and dished out 106 assists, equating to 3.4 per contest. Lyon turned the ball over less than once per game, with just 28 in 31 bouts. She was also a stellar defensive player, hauling in 24 steals for the year and bringing down 91 rebounds (2.9 RPG).
Makenzie Bremer comes back for her second season with the Buffaloes, after she tallied 8.1 points per tilt in her debut campaign. She had the third-best rebound total on the team, collecting 113 across 30 games played for a 3.8 average. She added 17 steals and seven blocks for the season.
Caroline Krueger and Callie Reeder are back as post options for the Buffs that saw 24 or more games of action in 2025-26, as Reeder especially came on strong late and was the MVP of the AAC Tournament Final against Reinhardt with 16 points on just eight shot attempts.
Jenna Hare will return to the fold following a season lost to injury last year. The fourth-year player has contributed to winning since her freshman year. It will be exciting to see her back on the court.
"Those five bring consistent, high level, varsity experience," Russell Greer added. "In addition, we have a group of returners and newcomers ready to elevate our team. Varsity returners: Bailey McCoy, Kabria Revels, Macy Henry, Dachelle Lucas, and Savannah Jenkins. Varsity newcomers: Zoe Rector, Elli Linx, and Eliva Moore."
Newcomers: A group of 10 new players joins the squad in 2026-27.
Eight freshmen and a pair of transfers were brought in, as Celeste Riddle (Clyde, N.C.), Ella Wilson (Gray, Tenn.), Zoe Rector (Connelly Springs, N.C.), Emily Atchley (Seymour, Tenn.), Amy McKenzie (Auckland, New Zealand), Kyleigh Cawood (Kingston, Tenn.), Emma Jaworski (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Ella Jaworski (Johnson City, Tenn.) make up the list of first-year collegiate athletes. Elivia Moore (Cleveland, Tenn., Alice Lloyd College) and Ellie Linx (Dandridge, Tenn., Pellissippi State CC) are the two junior transfers that have joined the roster.
Looking at the Schedule: Milligan hosts North Greenville on Halloween and Alice Lloyd on Nov. 3, before the Patriot Classic with No. 6-ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) on Nov. 5. They then face off with the (RV) University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) to close out the classic on Nov. 6. The Buffs also have a non-conference bout against Midway (Ky.) in Midway on Nov. 23 after three AAC tilts have been played.
A trio of additional non-conference games will be played before the calendar flips to 2027, as Milligan heads to the Faulkner Christmas Classic at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala. on Dec. 16 and 17. Milligan faces (RV) Faulkner on the 16th and Brewton-Parker Christian (Ga.) on the 17th. They then head to Rio Grande, Ohio for a tilt with the No. 13-ranked University of Rio Grande RedStorm on Dec. 30.
"As always, we have another challenging non-conference schedule," stated Russell Greer. "We have seen huge results from playing challenging teams the last three seasons, and we want to take advantage of that opportunity again. Whether we win or lose those games, they prepare us for post-season and help our rankings/analytics. We want to earn more respect for Milligan Basketball at the National level. Playing great teams is the best way for us to see how we measure up each season."
Top opponents within the AAC, Reinhardt (at Nov. 23), Pikeville (vs. Dec. 9, at Jan. 20) and Bryan (vs. Jan. 9) face Milligan a total of four times combined in 2026-27. Those three teams made up the rest of the top four in the conference in 2025-26. The Buffaloes also have contests against in-state rival Johnson on Dec. 2 at home and Feb. 13 on the road.
"Our league is strong this year. Not only are the games above going to be good contests, but teams throughout the league have a improved from last year to this year," Russell Greer concluded.
Last Word: "Come support your Lady Buffs this season!", coach Russell Greer exclaimed.
