JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey put the finishing touches on his 2020-21 roster Wednesday adding the lone freshman, Abbey Hodge, to a three-person recruiting class filling out the unit for the Lady Eagles.
"We are excited to have Abbey join our team for the 2020-2021 season," Mincey said. "She is no stranger to C-N basketball and it feels like navy and orange runs in her blood. Both her parents graduated from C-N, her sister Allison played for us a few years back and her sister Ashlyn just graduated from C-N. Adding quality people is just as important as adding quality players and Abbey fits both. Off the floor she will fit our culture and on the floor she meets the criteria we look for in our players."
Overall, Hodge will be the fifth person in her family's lineage to suit for the Orange and Blue. Most recently, her sister, Allison, was a member of the South Atlantic Conference's All-Freshman team in 2014-15 playing in all 30 games scoring in double figures eight times including a career-high 24 at Tusculum on Nov. 19. Unfortunately, her career was cut short due to nagging injuries.
An uncle, John Cabbage, and cousin, Chase McBee, played for the football program and a cousin, Megan McBee suited up for the Lady Eagles. Two other cousins played for the University of Tennessee. Skylar McBee was on the basketball team and Jeremy Cabbage was on the baseball roster.
Hodge will be the only true freshman on the team this season as the recruiting class features a pair of Furman transfers, Skylar Boshears and Lindsey Taylor. The forward helped led Grainger High School to back-to-back state tournaments to close out her career. She posted 10 points and five rebounds per game as a senior making 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from long range.
"Abbey shot 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from the three last year," Mincey said. "She is solid fundamentally and has a high basketball IQ. Playing efficiently on the offensive end is important to our program and I feel she can do just that. She also comes from a winning program at Grainger and also competes for a winner in the Tennessee Flight Select. We look forward to seeing her compete for us this winter."
During her career, she was a three-time All-District performer making the All-District Tournament team in each of her four seasons. As a rookie, she was named the district's Newcomer of the Year. Hodge also starred on the volleyball team netting All-District and All-District Tournament selections three times missing her junior season due to an injury.
Carson-Newman has won 20 games in each of the last four seasons reaching the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships. The Lady Eagles have led the South Atlantic Conference in scoring in five straight seasons and is one of three Division II teams and one of four teams in the top two NCAA divisions to rank in the top seven nationally in scoring over the last four campaigns.
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