Lyla Griffey saw a post on Instagram about Kiki Milloy hosting a softball camp this summer and immediately showed her father.
Although the family lives in Clearwater, Florida, Chris Griffey knew he couldn’t deny his 13-year-old daughter a chance to be around many of her idols. Within an hour, he had purchased a spot in the camp.
The family made the 12-hour drive to attend Kamp Kiki at Christian Academy of Knoxville.
“She loves the game. Her goal is to play for the Lady Vols,” Chris Griffey says. “To put her in the position to meet the team and learn from the players like Kiki is without a doubt worth every penny.”
Nearly 340 players attended Milloy’s inaugural camp, which featured a morning and afternoon session. They ran through different drills of fielding and hitting, played games and were able to get autographs and photos once the sessions were over.
Milloy was joined by several of her Tennessee teammates to help guide the young campers around the field and give them a small taste of what they experience in their own practices.
Milloy, a rising fifth-year senior outfielder, says she remembers attending a summer camp with her pitching coach as a kid and later serving as a camp counselor there.
“Just going through that and seeing how much fun it is really made me want to do this,” Milloy says. “We have all been that little girl who was coached by their favorite high school or college player, so coming out here and doing that and knowing how much it means to the little girls is special.”
Milloy helped the Lady Vols reach the Women’s College World Series this past season for the first time since 2015. The All-American center fielder led the country in home runs with a single-season school record of 25. The Woodinville, Washington native batted a team-leading .406 while slugging .929. She scored 86 runs, walked 51 times and stole 40 bases.
Milloy hosted her camp through the Lady Vol Boost Her Club, which provides a platform to create and develop Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for Tennessee female athletes.
At the start of her college career, Milloy would have needed to wait until she graduated before she could host camps and make money. But the loosening of NIL restrictions has enabled college athletes to capitalize on their fame while still in school.
“I think a lot of people when they think about NIL they think about athletes doing commercials and being paid for that, but we are out here giving back to our community and teaching these girls some things,” Milloy says. “So even though it’s NIL, it is so much more than that. Yeah, we are going to get paid, which rightfully so, but we are getting to do things in the community and we are getting to see the little girls who come to our games, because those are the ones that really mean the most.”
McKenna Anderson, 11, was thrilled to get the chance to meet the Lady Vols players in person, especially Milloy and McKenna “Boo” Gibson, because they share a first name.
“It was so much fun,” Anderson says. “We did so many fun activities and we got to get autographs and just had a blast.”
Anderson’s family drove six hours from Memphis to attend the morning session of the camp. The family made a weekend out of the trip, with Anderson’s brothers and father staying at the hotel swimming to escape the heat while McKenna and her mother, Morgan, were at the field.
“She was saying, ‘It’s going to be hot, but it will be so much fun,’” says Morgan Anderson as she watched her daughter fielding balls. “Just the chance to play with some of these girls who went to the Women’s College World Series and are so great is amazing. It’s huge for her to see other women do what she wants to do. Her goal is to play D1.”
Lyla Griffey wore a Milloy jersey T-shirt to the camp, which elicited a nice compliment from Milloy. Griffey had no regrets about driving from Florida to spend a few hours on the field with Milloy and the Lady Vols.
“I was really excited I could come play around with her and learn from her,” Griffey says. “The girls were all really nice to play with. I really enjoyed being around them and everybody was really happy and together during the whole camp.”
After the final autograph was signed, Milloy sat back in her chair to relax. The long day in the heat left everyone a bit exhausted. But Milloy’s face instantly lit up when asked about the reactions she received from the campers.
“Oh my gosh. I got a bunch of hugs and girls saying I am their favorite player,” Milloy says. “Sometimes it still shocks me because I don’t feel like I am that important. I don’t think I realize how influential I am to these little girls.”
It’s been a busy summer for Milloy. After returning from the WCWS in Oklahoma City, she played for Team USA last month in the WBSC World Cup group stage in Ireland, helping the Americans qualify for the 2024 World Cup finals.
She’s glad to finally be back in Knoxville and get into her normal routine of preparing for next season. Some of the same fundamental drills she taught her campers last weekend will be ones she uses during her practice sessions.
“I am ready for school to start and ready for fall ball. I am just excited to start summer workouts again,” Milloy says. “I haven’t been with my team for all of July because I was traveling to Ireland and stuff. I can’t wait to be around my team again.”