CHARLOTTE, N.C. — High Point University's Makayla Grubb has been voted the Big South Preseason Women's Golfer of the Year, which was announced on Wednesday. The award is voted on by league's head coaches and is based on this past fall season's results entering the 2026 spring campaign. Grubb joins Anna Howerton, the two-time Big South Preseason Golfer of the Year in 2024 and 2025, as the only three recipients of the award.
 
Grubb finished the 2025 fall season with a league-leading 72.13 stroke average in addition to being tops in the conference with four Top 10 finishes in her five starts. She finished two tournaments at 5-under par -- at the Lady Paladin Invitational (69-69-73) where she tied for fifth on the leaderboard, and at the Pirate Collegiate Classic (69-72-70), which also resulted in a tie for fifth. Ranked No. 231 in the nation by Scoreboard/Clippd, Grubb earned four Big South Freshman of the Week plaudits in the fall, in addition to Golfer of the Week recognition on Oct. 2. Her best finish was a tie for third at the Pat Bradley Invitational, and her 67 in her first-ever collegiate round at the Sept. 7-9 Golfweek Fall Challenge is tied for second-lowest in the Big South in 2025-26.
 
The Panthers kick off the spring season tees off on Feb. 9-10 at the Oyster Shuck Match Play event in Charleston, S.C., while the 2026 Big South Women's Golf Championship will again be contested at the Ocean Creek Golf Course on Fripp Island, S.C., and is scheduled for April 19-22.  The championship will feature 54 holes of stroke play (April 19-21) followed by a four-team Match Play Semifinal and Final on April 22 to determine the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.