Kentucky women’s tennis added depth to its roster with the addition of Avery Pope, daughter of Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope.

Avery Pope spent three seasons at BYU, appearing in the 2023-24 campaign where she posted a 6-10 singles record and a 9-4 mark in doubles.

During her time in Utah, Pope was named an ITA Division I Scholar-Athlete and earned ITA All-Academic Team honors at BYU.

She did not compete during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons after stepping away from the program to serve a mission in El Salvador.

“We are very excited for Avery to join our Kentucky women’s tennis family,” head coach Shelley Jaudon said. “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!”

Before her collegiate career, Pope was one of Utah’s top tennis prospects, ranking No. 3 in the state and No. 10 in the Mountain Region. She also helped lead Timpview High School to three consecutive Utah team state championships from 2018 to 2020.

At BYU, Pope showed the potential to contribute as a steady presence in both singles and doubles competition. After stepping away from the sport for more than two years, she is set to make a triumphant return to the court.

Now training under former two-time CAA Coach of the Year Jaudon, Pope will look to elevate her play and continue developing her game.