CLEMSON – Clemson is officially getting a huge piece of its roster back for the 2026-27 season.

Veteran guard Mia Moore, who led the Tigers in points, assists and steals per game last year, announced Tuesday that she has been granted a sixth year of eligibility to play at Clemson.

The NCAA denied Moore’s initial waiver for another year back in June, and in the early summer, head coach Shawn Poppie told media members that Clemson planned to fight the decision via an appeal.

“We felt confident that we could get that back,” Poppie said. “Unfortunately, that’s not how the NCAA sees it, so we gotta take a deeper dive into an appeal.” 

The basis of the appeal stemmed from Moore’s redshirt freshman season back in 2022, in which she played just 10 minutes across four games while battling an injury. However, the NCAA rule says that a season-ending injury has to occur before halfway through the regular season to be counted for a medical redshirt and Moore played in a game just over the precipice of the midway point.

The Alpharetta, Ga., native played in fewer than 30 percent of the team’s games that year, which is the other metric the organization uses to make decisions about medical redshirts.

The final results of the appeal mean that Moore, who averaged 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Tigers last year, will suit up one more time in the orange and white. 

Last season, she earned All-ACC honors after scoring 30 points in back-to-back performances, recording 21 other double-digit scoring games and becoming the 32nd player to record her 1000th career point at Clemson.

Moore becomes the second Clemson athlete to get another year of eligibility via appeal after wide receiver Tristan Smith was granted an injunction for a fifth season by a Pickens County judge this summer.

After Moore’s appeal was originally denied, another judge ruled that all fifth-year players should be granted a fifth season regardless of eligibility, making Smith and fellow women’s basketball player eligible (at least temporarily). Moore’s case was different, however, as she was seeking a sixth season.

She and the rest of her Tiger teammates will suit up to open their season against Radford on Nov. 2 at Littlejohn Coliseum.