Big South Announces 2025-26 Women's Basketball Preseason Honors
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – High Point forward
Nevaeh Zavala (Plano, Texas) has been voted the 2025-26 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches, it was announced this morning. Zavala is the third player from High Point in the last five years to receive the conference’s top preseason honor.
A First-Team All-Big South selection in 2024-25, Zavala played all 33 games a season ago with 32 starts. She set career highs in every category, as she averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds, and nearly averaged a block and steal per game. She led the Panthers in points (342), free throws (59), rebounds (187) and blocked shots (25). Zavala scored a career-high 33 points against Longwood on Jan. 15, and tallied three double-doubles last season -- including a 16-point, 10-rebound performance in the Panthers’ Big South Championship victory. She was voted to the Big South All-Tournament team after averaging 9.3 points and 8.0 rebounds during HPU’s title run. Zavala received four first-place votes and 67 points in the voting to earn the top spot on the preseason All-Conference team.
2025-26 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
First-Team
Nevaeh Zavala, High Point, Sr., F
Joi Williams, Radford, Jr., G
Amourie Porter, Winthrop, Jr., G/F
Amor Harris, Longwood, Jr., G
Cate Carlson, Radford, Jr., G
Second-Team
Aaliyah Collins, High Point, Gr., G
Anaya Harris, Gardner-Webb, Jr., G
Cassie Gallagher, USC Upstate, R-So., G
Malea Brown, Longwood, Gr., G
Tyonna Bailey, Charleston Southern, Jr., G
Williams was a First-Team All-Conference honoree in 2024-25, and led the Highlanders’ offense with 12.2 points per game and 2.6 assists per contest while making 38.7 percent from three-point range and 43.5 percent overall from the field. She ranked second in the Big South last season with 65 three-pointers made, and scored a career-high 23 points in a win over Longwood on Feb. 8. Williams totaled 29 points and nine assists in Radford’s two Big South Tournament games.
Porter was the 2025-26 Big South Newcomer of the Year in addition to a First-Team All-Conference honoree. She finished fourth in the conference with a team-high 13.1 scoring clip, as she was Winthrop’s leader with 405 points, 132 field goals, 130 free throws and 194 rebounds (6.3 average). The first Eagle to earn First-Team honors since 2017, Porter scored a season-high 25 points vs. Radford on Jan. 4.
Harris enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2024-25 as she averaged a team-leading 11.0 points while shooting 48.5 percent from the field in 23 starts and 34 games played. She earned Second-Team All-Big South and All-Tournament Team distinction, and helped the Lancers finish as the Big South Runner-up plus an appearance in the WNIT. Harris scored a career-high 23 points twice last year -- Dec. 6 in a win over South Carolina State, and Dec. 29 in a victory at UNC Wilmington.
Carlson started all 31 games in her first season at Radford last year, and earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors after establishing season highs for points (313, 10.1 ppg), rebounds (108, 3.5 rpg), assists (40), steals (33) and shooting percentage (36.5). Carlson’s 37.5 clip from three-point range was fourth-best in program history, and she scored a career-high 22 points in Radford’s Big South Quarterfinal win over Gardner-Webb.
The Preseason All-Conference Second-Team features the past two Freshman of the Year winners (Gallagher – 2024-25; Harris – 2023-24); a member of the 2025 All-Tournament Team (Collins); the Big South’s second-ranked steals leader last season (Brown); and a 15.0 scorer in conference games a year ago (Bailey).