Tess Darby one of the most prolific three-point shooters in Lady Vol basketball history, has accomplished another trey of sorts off the court, earning a spot on the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team for the third straight season, the league office announced Wednesday.
Darby, a fifth-year senior from Greenfield, Tenn., is the first Tennessee women’s basketball player to earn that distinction three times and only the third to garner multiple honors. She joins Cierra Burdick (2014, 2015) and Kara Lawson (2001, 2003) as the program’s multi-time recipients of that SEC recognition.
This marks the 27th year for the SEC Community Service Team for women’s basketball, which is a continuing effort to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition. All league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams for men’s and women’s sports being chosen from 1999-2003. The SEC began this concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.
A 6-foot-1 guard/forward, Darby graduated with a degree in finance in the spring of 2023 and completed a master’s in agricultural leadership, education and communication in the summer of 2024. She currently is pursuing a second master’s degree in business administration with emphasis in entrepreneurship and innovation. She also is a 2021-22 graduate of UT Athletics’ 2021-22 VOLeaders Academy and a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Darby has accumulated 110 hours of service around the Knoxville area and in her hometown. In addition to completing undergraduate and a master’s degrees, pursuing a second master’s degree and being active in Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Tess has participated each year in Hoops For Hope, a basketball-centered celebration for people with Down Syndrome as well with VOLoween, the Reach for the Summitt 5K and visits to kids at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. She also has taken a service trip to Rwanda with VOLeaders and assisted with the Big Orange Food Pantry, Love Kitchen, Operation Christmas Child, Young Williams Animal Shelter, Mission of Hope, Tennessee Kids Belong and I Can Bike.
She helped her team put siding on a veteran’s new house with Habitat For Humanity during the summer and taught basketball skills to kids at Girls Inc. this fall. She also volunteered her time with the Lonsdale Elementary P.E. class, did virtual reading and supported the PJ Parkinson’s group, Weigel’s Christmas, Christmas Angel Tree, Salvation Army, Forget Me Not 5K and the Lady Vols’ adopted Christmas family.
Additionally, she and her sister, Edie, hosted a basketball camp in their hometown of Greenfield, Tenn., to give back to the community that helped shape them.
She is averaging 5.2 points and 1.8 rebounds this season, ranking third on the team with 49 three-pointers made and hitting 36 percent beyond the arc. She has appeared in 26 contests this season, scoring in double figures six times and carding 16 games with multiple three-pointers made.
Tess Darby, one of the most prolific three-point shooters in Lady Vol basketball history, has accomplished another trey of sorts off the court, earning a spot on the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team for the third straight season, the league office announced Wednesday.
