Rutgers Women’s Basketball Lands Tennessee Twins Mia and Mya Pauldo in the Transfer Portal

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - MARCH 20: (L-R) Mya Pauldo #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers slaps hands with Mia Pauldo #13 during the second half of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament first round game against the NC State Wolfpack at Crisler Arena on March 20, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The NC Wolfpack won the game 76-61. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Rutgers women’s basketball continues to roll in the transfer portal as they have landed twins Mia and Mya Pauldo from Tennessee, according to their social media pages. Together they are known as “The Twin Backcourt” and are the Scarlet Knights’ second and third commit of the transfer portal, joining Jaylah Lampley who announced her commitment to Rutgers earlier today.

Both Mia and Mya, who both stand at 5-foot-6, played in 27 games during their freshman season at Tennessee. During that time, Mia, who averaged just over 23 minutes per game, finished the season third on the team with 10.4 points per game while shooting 35.6 percent on all shots. She also picked up an average of 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Mia earned SEC and National Freshman of the Week twice during the season, and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

Mya, on the other hand, averaged 1.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 9.9 minutes per game.

Their commitment is a homecoming for both of them as the duo are New Jersey natives who played their high school ball at Morris Catholic in Denville. Both were rated as four stars in their recruitment class by On3 and 247sports, while Mia was rated a five star by ESPN. Mia also earned McDonald’s All-American status during her senior season, where she averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds per game that year. Mya posted 16.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game during their senior season as well.

They both come to Rutgers with three years of eligibility remaining.

According to Brian Fonseca NJ.com, Rutgers bundled a significant NIL package to land the duo, with the combined package landing in the mid-six figures. Mia and Mya are considered pioneers in the world of NIL, as they were the youngest basketball players ever to sign an NIL deal with Puma in September 2022 at just 15 years old.