Charleston Southern's Maeva Tahou Voted 2025-26 Wanda Watkins Female Athlete of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Charleston Southern women’s track & field athlete
Maeva Tahou (Locarno, TI, Switzerland) has been voted the Big South Conference Wanda Watkins Female Athlete of the Year for the 2025-26 season by the league’s Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and Athletics Communications Directors, it was announced today by the conference office. The candidates for the annual award consist of the Players of the Year from each sport, and must be deemed eligible for the honor by their respective school. Tahou is Charleston Southern’s first recipient of the conference’s Wanda Watkins Female Athlete of the Year Award since
Gabrielle Houston in 2011-12 and the second overall.
Tahou earned First-Team All-America honors in both the long jump and triple jump following her performances at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June. She was fifth in the long jump with a Big South-record distance of 6.56m, and placed sixth in the triple jump with a Big South-record leap of 13.44m. Tahou, who was named the Most Valuable Athlete at both the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championship (40 points) and Outdoor Championship (50.5 points), capped her indoor season with four conference titles (200m, 60m Hurdles, triple jump, long jump) and established the league’s overall and Championship Meet record in the long jump (6.31m), in addition to recording the fourth-best all-time performance in the triple jump (13.03m). Tahou’s outdoor season included winning the NCAA East First Round long jump, plus a total of seven medals at the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships with four golds (100mH, 4x400m, long jump and triple jump) and three silvers (100m, 200m, 4x100m). Her time of 13.17 seconds in the 100m Hurdles at the NCAA East First Round ranks third all-time in conference history, while her season-best time of 11.52 seconds in the 100m ranks ninth in league annals. Tahou finished with all seven of CSU’s team points at the National Outdoor Meet to tie for 35th in the team standings -- the fourth-best team point total in Big South history and the highest by any current conference member. In total, she broke six school records and holds second-place in another three events in CSU history.
Tahou received 90 points and 13 first-place votes, ahead of Winthrop volleyball player
Avery Jolley, who was second with 58 points (four first-place votes). USC Upstate softball player
Taliyah Thomas was third with 47 points.
In March 2000, the Big South Conference Executive Committee voted to create an annual Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, and named the male award in honor of former Charleston Southern Athletic Director
Howard Bagwell, who was one of the founders of the Big South Conference and an inaugural inductee into the league’s Hall of Fame. In June 2022, the Executive Committee named the female award in honor of former Campbell women’s basketball coach/administrator and Big South Hall of Famer
Wanda Watkins. The Athlete of the Year awards have been presented annually since 1999-00, with the exception of 2019-20 due to the season being incomplete and eventually canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The annual Watkins Female Athlete of the Year honorees are listed below.
WANDA WATKINS FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2025-26 - Maeva Tahou, Charleston Southern
2024-25 - Sydney Horn, High Point (track & field)
2023-24 - Dylan Maberry, High Point (volleyball)
2022-23 - Sydney Horn, High Point (track & field)
2021-22 - Abby Hormes, High Point (lacrosse)
2020-21 - Abby Bottomley, High Point (volleyball)
2018-19 - Lauren Proctor, Winthrop (tennis)
2017-18 - Lauren Proctor, Winthrop (tennis)
2016-17 - Marthaline Cooper, Winthrop (track & field)
2015-16 - Ednah Kurgat, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2014-15 - Megan Baltzell, Longwood (softball)
2013-14 - Dequesha McClanahan, Winthrop (basketball)
2012-13 - Brooke Short, Longwood (softball)
2011-12 - Gabrielle Houston, Charleston Southern (track & field)
2010-11 - Natalie Pearson, UNC Asheville (track & field)
2009-10 - Kristen Shifflett, Radford (softball)
2008-09 - Megan Frazee, Liberty (basketball)
2007-08 - Megan Frazee, Liberty (basketball)
2006-07 - Aruka Felgueroso, Coastal Carolina (golf)
2005-06 - Tiffany Evans, Radford (track & field)
2004-05 - Katie Feenstra, Liberty (basketball)
2003-04 - Katie Feenstra, Liberty (basketball)
2002-03 - Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina (track & field)
2001-02 - Heather Sagan, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2000-01 - Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina (track & field)
1999-00 - Anthonia Akpama, Liberty (volleyball)