Featured Image: UT Martin junior guard Kenley McCarn (44) pushes the ball up the court during the Skyhawks’ game against SIUE on Jan. 15, 2026 at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee. (Photo Credit/Kaniya Anthony)

After an up and down season for the UT Martin Skyhawks women’s basketball team, redshirt junior guard Kenley McCarn was named to the All-OVC first team. This honor adds to an already decorated list that includes:

• Yearly Honors
  • All-OVC First Team (2023-24)
  • All-OVC Second Team (2024-25)
  • OVC All-Newcomer Team (2023-24)
  • OVC Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team (2024)
  • OVC Preseason Player to Watch (2024-25)
• Weekly Honors
  • 2x OVC Player of the Week (11/15/22, 12/19/23)
  • 6x OVC Freshman of the Week (11/15/22, 11/22/22, 12/5/23, 12/19/23, 1/3/24, 2/13/24)
• Academic Honors
  • OVC Medal of Honor (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25)
  • OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25)
  • Athletic Director’s Honor Roll: (Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025)

McCarn has spent all four years of her college basketball career at UT Martin. She led the Skyhawks in scoring and was fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), in the regular season, with 16.0 points per game (PPG). She was also second in rebounds behind redshirt sophomore forward Zy Thompson, with 5.3 rebounds per game (RPG). McCarn has also graduated with a degree in accounting and finance, and is currently pursuing a masters degree in business administration.

Before arriving at UT Martin, McCarn attended Melbourne high school in Melbourne, Arkansas. She led the Bearkatz to four straight state championships. While there, McCarn recorded a career high of 44 points.

When choosing UT Martin, McCarn’s decision was heavily affected by head coach Kevin McMillan.

“I knew coach McMillan was the coach that everyone was gonna play hard for. There were no exceptions,” Said McCarn. “It was never who was necessarily the most talented. So I knew that UT Martin is where I was going to fit in.”

In her four years, McCarn has also established herself in a leadership role which she takes pride in. On the court McCarn would describe herself as a lead by example kind of teammate.

“Definitely (lead) by example, which is something that really frustrates Coach McMillan because he tries to get me to, say all these things or, you know, get people to do stuff and my main thing that I’ve always done as a leader is I’m going to show you how to do it. That is something that I’ve had to grow into as a leader, learning how to do, how to lead people in other ways too, mainly I want to make sure I’m doing it myself because I don’t feel like I have the right to vocally say something if I’m not going to do it myself,” said McCarn.

Junior guard Brittani Wells says McCarn fueled every practice and game with her good work ethic.

“She’s just the hardest worker out there. You can tell it’s a big difference just in everything she does. She goes very hard. She takes no plays off in practice,  she takes it serious,” said Wells. “She is very dependable and, it showed all season, she was consistent. I knew I could count on her because she stayed in the gym. She always did the extra work, I could depend on her because she’s done this, you know, thousands of times she puts in the work and she’s passionate about it and I know I can count on her.”

McCarn also recalled some great moments here as a Skyhawk. Some of those being her 40-point performance and her trips to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) tournaments, but her favorite moment was the opportunity to play in NCAA tournament.

During the 2023-24 college basketball season, the Skyhawks booked their trip to the tournament, competing in the first four for the 16 seed against the Holy Cross Crusaders. Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, that is where the team’s season would come to an end as UT Martin lost 72-45.

“Two years ago when we went to the NCAA tournament, I don’t think anyone that year thought that we were going to be able to do it. We were only playing five people and, I mean, it was pretty incredible that we were able to pull it off and the experience to go to the tournament was amazing,” said McCarn.

McCarn wants to be remembered for her hard work as a Skyhawk and how much time she has put into the game, but she is also unsure of what her future looks like in basketball. Whether that is coaching or playing overseas, there is uncertainty in the future.

“Really, I’m not sure on that. I think I would like to be a basketball coach, but I’m really trying to not get myself to do that. But I could see myself wanting to be a coach or I would even like to go overseas, which is a little scary, so I would have to talk myself into it,” said McCarn.

As it stands, McCarn has another year of eligibility and plans to return to UT Martin for her fifth year.