Northern Arizona guard Naomi White commits to Lady Vols out of transfer portal

Northern Arizona guard Naomi White commits to Lady Vols out of transfer portal

Northern Arizona guard Naomi White has committed to Lady Vols basketball, she announced April 9.

The 5-foot-9 redshirt freshman led the Lumberjacks in scoring, averaging 20.8 points, making her the top-scoring freshman in the country. White, who was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, also averaged 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 steals. She was also a first team All-Conference selection.

White is the second addition out of the portal for Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell, who has to rebuild her entire roster going into her third seasons. White joins Liberty transfer Avery Mills, who committed April 8.

White is a crucial addition for the Lady Vols with three years of eligibility left. All eight of Tennessee's possible returners entered the transfer portal. Five-star forward Oliviyah Edwards was granted her release from her signing, leaving four-star wing Gabby Minus as the only incoming freshman.

White is another strong shooter added out of the portal. She led the Big Sky in scoring, made 3-pointers (92), 3-pointer made per game (2.88), and 3-point percentage (36.5%). Her 61 steals were the most by a freshman in program history.

White broke a program record when she hit nine 3-pointers against Weber State, scoring a career-high 37 points. She also holds the program record for points in a single season (667) and 3-pointers made (92).

White started her career at Grand Canyon University, but she redshirted and did not play.

The Omaha, Nebraska, native played at Bellevue West High School, where she averaged 17.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 steals.

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social‬. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Northern Arizona guard Naomi White commits to Lady Vols out of transfer portal