NORFOLK, Va., Aug. 14, 2023 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has named volleyball standout Miajavon Coleman from Coppin State University as the 2023 Woman of the Year.
 
The award, selected annually by the MEAC Senior Woman Administrators, celebrates the achievements of senior female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, service, and leadership. Coleman is now a candidate for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, which will be named in January at the NCAA convention.
 
“It is my honor to congratulate Miajavon Coleman as the 2023 MEAC Woman of the Year,” MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said. “Miajavon’s on-court accomplishments as a volleyball student-athlete speak for themselves, and she has also been a star in the classroom and in the community. I want to thank Coppin State’s coaches, athletics staff and academic support personnel, as well as Miajavon’s family, for their part in her success, and I know she’ll continue to represent both Coppin State and the MEAC well.”
 
Coppin State volleyball has enjoyed unprecedented success since Coleman’s arrival, winning at least a share of MEAC regular-season titles in 2020 and 2022 – years in which the Eagles also advanced to the championship match of the conference tournament. She was the MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2018, the MEAC Player of the Year in 2021, and from 2019-23, she was a First Team All-MEAC honoree four times.
 
In 2021, Coleman was named All-America Honorable Mention and All-East Region by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
 
She is the program’s all-time leader in career kills and points while ranking fifth in Coppin history in career digs and blocks. She is the only Coppin State volleyball player to record 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, and she ranks second in MEAC history in points and third in kills.
 
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Coleman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, graduating with a 3.69 GPA. From 2020-22, she was a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma honor society, and she served as both vice president (2019-20) and president (2020-22) of Coppin’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
A four-time MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic honoree, Coleman was also a two-time Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar (2022, 2023), and she was named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2022. In 2020, Coleman also received a grant to perform biomedical research on Coppin State’s campus in the ophthalmic research lab, investigating the role of oxygen-free radicals in the pathogenesis of ocular diseases.
 
A student leader, Coleman served as a Student Ambassador with the Office of Admissions from 2020-23, and she was a student organizer for Coppin’s first Lady Eagle Breast Cancer Awareness Walk in 2022-23. 2023 also saw Coleman participate in CSU Talon Talk with university president Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins.
 
Coleman was even more active in the community. In 2018-19, she was a student volunteer coordinator for a food and supply drive for survivors and victims of Hurricane Maria, and she was a summer volunteer for the Hope for Haven homeless shelter and the San Antonio Food Bank. In addition, Coleman mentored young students as part of the Queen in You initiative at Liberty Elementary School, and she was the athletic department’s lead for the Mayor’s North Avenue Cleanup from 2018-21.
 
2022 also saw Coleman serve as a team volunteer project captain for both the Cal Ripken Summer League Youth Clinic and Special Olympics Maryland Unified Sports Camp.
 
MEAC Woman of the Year Honorees
2006               Renecia Lovelace, North Carolina A&T State (Softball)
2007               Courtney Smiley, Howard (Basketball)
2008                Jessica Worsley, Maryland Eastern Shore (Bowling)
2009                Loreal Smith, North Carolina A&T State (Track & Field)
2010                Kalyn Washburn, Delaware State (Bowling)
2011                Kristina Frahm, Maryland Eastern Shore (Bowling)
2012                Jazmyne Hefflefinger, Delaware State (Bowling)
2013                T’nia Falbo, Maryland Eastern Shore (Bowling)
2014                Christina Epps, Coppin State (Track & Field)
2015                Mariana Alvarado Nava, Maryland Eastern Shore (Bowling)
2016                Jenny Tracy, North Carolina Central (Softball)
2017                Thashaina Seraus, Maryland Eastern Shore (Bowling)
2018                Lyndsey Edwards, Bethune-Cookman (Basketball)
2019                Damali Young, Morgan State (Softball)
2020                Alelee Figueroa, Florida A&M (Track & Field)
2021                Salma Gonzalez, Coppin State (Volleyball)
2022               Cathryn Lane, Coppin State (Cross Country/Track & Field)
2023               Miajavon Coleman, Coppin State (Volleyball)

 
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 53^rd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2023-24 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, and South Carolina State University. For more information about the MEAC, visit www.MEACSports.com.