Tara Avants

Tara Avants is an Assistant District Attorney at the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office, where she has been assigned to the Crimes Against Children Division since 2021. Tara is Chief of the Crimes Against Children Division and serves as the Internship Program Director for the McLennan County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. 

Tara graduated from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 2014 with a double major in Psychology and Spanish. Tara represented Wofford College all four years on the NCAA Division I Volleyball team. In February 2017, Tara obtained her Juris Doctor from Baylor University School of Law, with a concentration in Criminal Law. While attending Baylor Law, Tara competed on several national mock trial teams and received the designation of Leadership Fellow.

She began her career as a prosecutor in April 2017 at the Limestone County Attorney’s Office where she served as an Assistant District and County Attorney for four years. Tara primarily handled misdemeanors and appeals but also tried felony cases to juries. Tara completed the Institute for Coordinated Community Response and worked with local law enforcement agencies through the Domestic Violence Task Force to improve patrol responses to family violence cases. 

Tara is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Texas District and County Attorney’s Association (TDCAA), the Judge Abner V. McCall American Inn of Courts, the McLennan County Young Lawyers Association, and American Mensa. Tara is a frequent speaker and faculty member for TDCAA, which trains prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and key personnel across the state. 

Tara also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Baylor Law School and teaches in the Baylor Law Criminal Law Bootcamp program. Tara mentors future Baylor Lawyers by judging client counseling sessions and mock trial competitions, evaluating storytelling exercises in the Introduction to Trial Advocacy class, and serving as a guest speaker for incoming students as well as Baylor Law student organizations. Tara was named the Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year in 2025. 

Outside the courtroom, Tara remains deeply rooted in faith, family, and community. Tara is also an active member of the Junior League of Waco and currently serves as the President-Elect.