The best athletic trainer in the nation works at WVU Potomac State College. The National Collegiate Athletic Association honored Carita Mills as the 2026 National Athletic Trainer of the Year during its national conference in Kansas City.
“Everyone who has met or worked with Carita understands the dedication she brings to our student-athletes each and every day,” said PSC Athletic Director Mandi Larkin. “This award simply confirms what we have long known—that she is among the very best in the profession and truly deserving of national recognition. She approaches her work with a consistent student-athlete focus, doing everything in her power to help all of us improve day by day. We are fortunate to have her on our staff at WVU Potomac State and are thrilled to see her honored by the NJCAA as National Athletic Trainer of the Year.”
Mills is one of 1,200 athletic trainers at more than 500 two-year and junior colleges in the United States. She was presented with the prestigious award on Wednesday evening in Missouri.
“I was very surprised by the award,” Mills said. “The nomination must have said some very nice things about me. When I found out I had won this national award, I couldn’t believe it.”
In her role as an athletic trainer, Mills oversees the health and wellness of every athlete in every sport played at Potomac State. She monitors the needs of each athlete, and she responds when they have issues that can range from a speck of dirt in an eye to a broken bone.
“Anything related to the health and safety of the athlete is my responsibility. If it involves an athlete and medical care, that’s my job,” Mills said. “I like to think I fill a gap in healthcare for our students. I build up trust with the students, and I treat them and listen to them without judgment. Sometimes, a student just wants to come in and talk and get something off their chest, and I am here for that too.”
Carita Mills treats Jonas Balele
Mills has office hours in the lower level of the Lough Gymnasium building, but is mostly seen at all the home games where she is courtside, keeping an eye out for changes in an athlete’s performance and monitoring any injuries that she needs to respond to.
“I go to all the home games so I can see the techniques and see how they play, and then I know if something isn’t right or when an athlete seems off,” she said. “I can tell if that is their normal self and performance, or if there is something wrong that we need to look at.”
Mills added that “most junior colleges and two-year colleges have at least one athletic trainer.”
While Mills is the only trainer currently at PSC, she does get assistance from time to time from athletic trainer students from Frostburg State University. The Frostburg students work with Mills to achieve their necessary credit and clinical hours to become certified trainers of their own. PSC accepts two students per semester from Frostburg into the program to assist.
But for the most part and for most days, Mills works alone – going above and beyond to see and tend to the needs of more than 20 athletes who come to see her every day.
Carita Mills treats Callen Miller
Students like Callen Miller, for instance. Miller is a freshman on the men’s baseball team.
“Carita Mills is like a second mom away from home,” he said. “She takes care of all of us. Everything we need, she is there for it.”
Carita Mills treats Hunter Krotzer
Junior Hunter Krotzer is also on the baseball team.
“Carita cares about every single person she sees,” he said. “She helps us with whatever we have going on in life. She gets us ready to be in peak condition and to perform 100%.”
“She helps everyone and keeps the team in good shape,” added Braeden Oviedo. Oviedo is a freshman baseball player. “If it wasn’t for Carita Mills, I wouldn’t know how I would get back to playing at times.”
Cole Smith receives a cupping treatment
“As a student athlete, Carita has helped me in big ways,” said freshman baseball player Cole Smith. “In the fall of last year, she discovered I had a shoulder injury. I saw a specialist and had an MRI done in Cumberland, and through that MRI, I learned I needed surgery. Then I came to Carita for physical therapy afterward. She keeps me healthy and has helped me in ways that have changed my life.”
Maddie Fields receives treatment from Carita Mills
Maddie Fields plays on the women’s softball team.
“Carita helps us after practices. She not only helps with the physical treatments, but she also listens to us when we have problems,” Fields said. “Sometimes, I come in just to talk to her.”
“Carita helps get us back on the field,” said athlete Chase House. “She helped me come up with a meal plan. She keeps us in peak performance shape.”
Sophomore soccer player Alex Angenal also wanted to add his thoughts.
“Carita means a lot to every athlete on campus,” he said. “She works a lot by herself, and the amount of time and effort she puts into her job means a lot to all of us.”
“Carita deserves this award,” said Hasan Azam, who also plays soccer. “She is always available to us. My faith is important to me, and she knows the schedule of my faith, and she knows the holy days and the holy months, and she is respectful and wonderful with that. She is the best.”
Chloe Griese said even though she no longer plays on the PSC softball team, Carita Mills remains an integral part of her student life.
“Talking to Carita is a break,” she said. “I can come to her and just talk. I feel like her office is a safe space where healing happens. I enjoy the family connection she has with all the athletes she helps.”
Mills said it is the student-athletes who also motivate her and inspire her.
“Their tuition pays my salary,” she said. “We don’t take insurance, so when you are a student athlete, this could be the health care you are getting. I think people would be surprised to learn what we do. I do everything from talking to the students about issues they might be having to emergency care to physical therapy. That’s what I love about this job. Every day is different.”
In August of 2013, Carita was named Head Athletic Trainer at Potomac State College, a role she held for five years. After leaving Potomac State College in 2018 to have her second child, she was named the Clinical Education Coordinator for the Athletic Training Program at Frostburg State University and served in that role until returning to PSC.
“I love what I do,” Mills said. “I have tried other jobs and worked in other places, and nothing compares to what I do here. The students I help here go on to become coaches and assistant coaches. And now I have been here for so long that I am seeing different faces from the same families. I can’t imagine doing anything else right now.”
Mills earned her bachelor’s degree in athletic training in 2013 from Frostburg State University. In 2015, she earned her Master of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science from California University of Pennsylvania. She has plans to pursue her doctorate in sports medicine. Mills resides in Keyser with her husband Matt and their two children.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a non-profit organization that regulates student athletics, primarily in the United States. It establishes rules for eligibility, recruitment, and competition, while organizing championships for more than 90 sports across three divisions.