LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — Another member of the Pope family is headed to Lexington!
Kentucky women’s tennis added Avery Pope to its roster for the 2026–27 season, head coach Shelley Jaudon announced Friday.
“We are very excited for Avery to join our Kentucky women’s tennis family,” said Jaudon. “Avery has a unique story in pausing her athletic career to go serve others overseas. The maturity, selflessness and drive it took from her to live that experience is going to help Avery have an immediate impact on our program. We can’t wait to get started working with her!”
Another Pope to the @UKAthletics family!
— Hannah Hamelback (@hhamelbackTV) May 22, 2026
Avery Pope joins @UKWomensTennis for the 2026-27 season.
She's in her fourth year of eligibility, spending her first three collegiate years at BYU. The last season she played was 2023-24, before taking some time off to go on a mission… pic.twitter.com/OAHs9kn0SW
Pope arrives at Kentucky with one season of eligibility remaining after spending her first three collegiate seasons at BYU. She last competed during the 2023-24 campaign before stepping away from competition to serve a mission in El Salvador.
During her most recent season with the BYU, Pope posted a 6-10 singles record and went 9-4 in doubles play.
Before beginning her collegiate career, Pope built an impressive résumé in Utah, helping lead her team to three state championships from 2018–2020. She also climbed as high as No. 3 in the state rankings and No. 10 in the Mountain Region.
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