JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Jefferson County High School product Makayla Alvey will join the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles, the 2020-21 South Atlantic Conference regular-season champions, putting a bow on a five-person recruiting class announced by coach Mike Mincey on Wednesday.
"Makayla is an athletic, fiery competitor," Mincey said. "She has excelled in multiple sports and has only known success. She can do a lot of things well on the floor but it's her competitiveness I'm looking forward to her bringing the most. I've seen it a lot during her high school career. She will fit in well with our team and I look forward to see where her game goes focusing on just basketball. Like all of our players, she comes from a very supportive family and gets it done in the classroom.
"We are really excited about this five-person class coming in. I'm not sure we could have done any better addressing our weaknesses from a team that won the regular season SAC championship."
Alvey pursued softball out of high school playing in 15 games for Lipscomb in 2021 tallying a pair of hits and a pair of walks while scoring three runs. Offered by Mincey out of high school, she returns to the hardwood after being a decorated prep star. She will have at least three years of eligibility.
The District 2 AAA Player of the Year was also named to the all-state roster producing over 1,000 points guiding the Patriots to a regular-season title and district tournament championship earning the MVP laurel. She was the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic Tournament MVP leading the team to the hardware. The guard capped her season with a spot on the BCAT All-Star team. The two-time team captain was a four-time all-conference pick.
Between softball, basketball and volleyball, she was selected to eight all-district teams including twice being an all-region pick in hoops. In 2019, she helped Jefferson County win the Softball Class AAA State Championship as an all-state selection. Overall she was a part of 10 championships across the three sports collecting 24 individual awards.
She joins Gracie Midkiff, Ruth Mbugua, Campbell Penland and Tori Rutherford as members of the 2021 recruiting class. Rutherford and Penland were named District Players of the Year with Penland being named the MVP of the district tournament. Alvey, Penland and Rutherford were all named to all-state squads in their senior seasons.
Alvey continues a lineage of players that grew up in the surrounding East Tennessee region to begin their collegiate career elsewhere before suiting up for the Orange and Blue. Three of those players have earned All-American honors led by two-time honoree Haris Price as well as Mika Wester and consensus All-American Kayla Marosites.
The Lady Eagles have won 20 games in each of the last four seasons reaching the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships. C-N has led the South Atlantic Conference in scoring in six straight seasons after winning its second regular season crown in the last four campaigns.
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