NORFOLK, Va. – Four members of the Coppin State volleyball team, the 2025 MEAC Regular Season Champions, received major postseason awards which were announced by the league office at Center Club in Downtown Baltimore on Wednesday night.
TaKenya Stafford was named the MEAC Player of the Year while
Cherisse Atilano and
Coco Figueroa received Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. Additionally,
Tim Walsh was recognized as the conference's Coach of the Year.
Stafford, Figueroa and
Kayden Cupid were also named to the All-MEAC First Team while Atilano was selected to the Second Team and the All-Rookie Team. This is the third-straight season that Stafford has earned First Team honors and the second time for Figueroa. Cupid was an All-Rookie Team selection last season.
Stafford is the third CSU player to receive Player of the Year honors, and the first since
Miajavon Coleman did so since the Spring 2021 season. Atilano is also the third Rookie of the Year in CSU history, joining both Coleman (2018) and
Chudear Tut (Spring 2021). Figueroa is the second Eagles player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors after
Ashley Roman won it four-straight times from 2020 to 2023.
Proving herself as the top all-around player in the MEAC once again, Stafford led the league with 20 double-doubles which are also tied for eighth in the Nation. A redshirt senior from Los Angeles, Calif., Stafford also led the MEAC with a CSU single-season record 447 kills and 500.5 total points. Stafford ranked fourth in the league in kills/set (3.69) and points/set (4.14) while also ranking eighth in digs/set (2.63). She also ranked third on the Eagles with 32 aces and 39 total blocks while hitting .221 and was a three-time MEAC Player of the Week. During conference play, Stafford tallied 4.04 kills/set and 4.48 points/set, both third in the MEAC, on .247 to go with 2.81 digs/set which was ninth in the league.
In just three seasons at Coppin, Stafford solidified herself as one of the program's all-time greats. Stafford ranks third in CSU history in both kills (1,226) and total points (1,357.0), and eighth with 935 digs while posting 50 double-doubles.
An outside hitter from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Atilano won a league-high four Rookie of the Week awards and was the only freshman to earn a Player of the Week award this season.
Atilano finished the season ranked eighth in the MEAC in kills per set (2.79) and aces per set (0.36) while placing seventh in both digs/set (2.69) and points per set (3.26). She finished second in the league in service aces (44) and double-doubles (13) and fifth in kills (337), points (394.5) and digs (325).
In MEAC play, the freshman sensation was even better, recording 2.94 kills per set on .260 hitting (10
th) to go with 3.28 digs (5
th) and a league-high 26 aces for 3.52 points per set.
Figueroa led the MEAC in both digs (548) and digs/set (4.64) while adding 39 aces and 162 assists (1.37/set) from the libero position. A junior from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Figueroa had double-digit digs in 27 of her 30 matches this season and exceeded 20 digs in 12 matches. Figueroa also led the league in both digs (210) and digs/set (4.20) in conference play, while adding 1.64 assists/set. A three-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Week, Figueroa posted three double-doubles this season and ranks third in CSU history with 1,167 digs and sixth with 104 aces.
Walsh received his fourth MEAC Coach of the Year award after leading the Eagles to their fourth regular season title, all of which have come under his watch this decade. Now in his ninth year at Coppin, Walsh has amassed a school record 142 victories with the Navy & Gold with an 85-32 mark in conference play. This season, CSU recorded its third 20+ win season in the last four years and already set single season records for kills, assists, conference wins, home wins and the longest winning streak. Walsh accounts for 51% of the program's all-time wins and 59% of its conference victories.
A sophomore middle blocker from Supply, N.C., Cupid led the Eagles with 85 blocks (0.86/set) and a .306 hitting percentage while ranking third on the team with 161 kills (1.63/set). Cupid finished fifth in the MEAC in hitting, second in total blocks and third in blocks per set. She was even better in conference play, hitting .345 with 1.08 blocks/set, both of which ranked second in the league. Cupid's 43 total blocks during those matches were the fourth-most in the MEAC.
The top-seed Eagles host the 2025 MEAC Tournament at PEC Arena on November 20-22 and take on #8 South Carolina State at 2:00 pm on Thursday afternoon. All matches during the Tournament will air on ESPN+.
