By JOHN MOOREHOUSE
We are about two weeks into the 2025-26 college basketball season. Back before games tipped off, we told out about the five area athletes that began this campaign on Division I rosters. There’s a long way to go until postseason play ramps up in March, but we plan to keep checking in on this group as the season progresses. Meanwhile, area standouts from volleyball, soccer, and football are concluding or winding down their fall seasons.
Here’s your Next Level Locals update for the latter half of November.
The Greeneville, TN, native is off to a hot start for the Vols. Through three games, Gillespie is averaging 16.5 points, 6.25 assists, and 2.3 rebounds while starting every contest at point guard. He ranks third on the team in scoring and leads the Vols in assists. Gillespie dropped 17 points and eight assists on Rice in Monday’s 91-66 victory over the Owls in Knoxville.
Up Next: Tennessee hosts Tennessee State on Thursday.
McAmis (pictured in the featured image for this article, courtesy of Robin Dotson) was the most prolific scorer in the history of Wise County basketball and has shown flashes of that thus far in her short time with the Bucs. McAmis is averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds through the first three games of the season. All 18 of those points have come across two appearances — the Nov. 7 game in Knoxville against the Lady Vols and last Saturday’s home game against Division II Claflin. McAmis logged 21 minutes off the bench in both of those contests.
Up Next: ETSU plays at Tennessee Tech on Thursday and at Memphis on Saturday.
The record-setting post at Greeneville High has yet to see the floor for the Hawkeyes. That’s a topic that Iowa coach Ben McCollum addressed during a Monday morning media briefing:
Oliver has seen his role expand significantly from last season. Through three games, he’s averaging 7.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 18.0 minutes for UNF — coming exclusively off the bench thus far in 2025-26. Oliver had five points and three boards in a Nov. 12 trip to Tennessee, a game the Vols won handily in a 99-66 rout.
Up Next: UNF plays at Wofford on Wednesday, then hosts Southern Miss Saturday.
Mains has yet to appear in a game for the Tigers. Her true freshman campaign at FAU last season was cut short due to knee surgery.
Up Next: Mizzou has two home games this week, against Southern Illinois on Tuesday and Troy on Thursday.
VOLLEYBALL
ETSU finds itself with the top seed for the Southern Conference tournament, set to begin Thursday in Asheville, after capturing the SoCon reglar-season title outright for the first time since 2022. Two local athletes have been contributors in the current run. Makayla Bays, a sophomore out of Gate City, has a team-high 392 kills and ranks second in digs with 241. Kari Wilson, a redshirt freshman libero who graduated from West Ridge, has notched 64 digs in limited action in the Bucs’ rotation.
FOOTBALL
The former Sullivan East and Science Hill standout made his collegiate debut earlier this month, appearing in the Buffs’ games against Arizona on Nov. 1 and West Virginia on Nov. 8.
SOCCER
lost to North Carolina 3-1 this past Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Norris started 18 of 19 games this season, posting a 0.69 goals against average and making 46 total saves. UT went 11-4-3 with Norris between the pipes, posting nine clean sheets.