CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Following the completion of championship play on Thursday, Big South Conference announced the annual women's golf awards following stroke play during the championship awards ceremony at the Ocean Creek Golf Course at the Fripp Island Golf and Beach Resort
High Point University's
Makayla Grubb was voted as the Big South Freshman of the Year by league coaches, while
Lyndsey Hunnell was presented the Big South Coach of the Year award after leading HPU to its first women's golf championship in school history.
All five Panthers in the championship lineup —
Eva Lye,
Anna Howerton,
Anais Arafi,
Ella Perna and Grubb — earned Big South All-Conference accolades:
Grubb is the fourth High Point golfer to earn Freshman of the Year honors and the third consecutive Panther to receive the award. She entered the postseason atop the conference's stroke average leaderboard at 72.59 and tied for third in Top 10 finishes with six. Ranked No. 211 nationally, she placed second at the Big South Championship with a 217, then delivered an 8&7 victory in the Championship Match to help lead HPU to its first Big South title in program history. Grubb's 5-under performance at the Lady Paladin Invitational tied for the second-lowest 54-hole score in the conference this season, while her round of 67 at the Golfweek Fall Challenge also tied for the second-lowest round in the league this year.
Hunnell earns her third Big South Coach of the Year honor in four seasons and her second straight. She guided the Panthers to two regular-season victories in 2025-26 — the Rivertown Intercollegiate and Daniel Island Invitational — and the program's first Big South Championship title, highlighted by a 15-shot win in Stroke Play, also a program first. High Point finished in the Top 4 in all 10 events and ranked No. 62 nationally, the highest among Big South teams, with four Panthers sitting among the league's Top 7 in stroke average entering the conference championship. Hunnell also coached Grubb to Freshman of the Year honors, along with five All-Conference selections.
Lye finished tied for fifth during the 54 holes of stroke play, and then went on to win both her matches with a 4&3 victory in the semis against Charleston Southern followed by a championship match win against UNC Asheville, 1UP. Arafi, who finished stroke play in the top 10, clinched the program's first championship in school history with a birdie putt on hole 4 after a sudden-death playoff, which continued through a full 18 to a total of 22 holes to win 1UP.
Howerton and Lye finished tied for first with the lowest 54-hole score in the conference this season, a 6-under round, as Howerton had the second-lowest scoring average (73.04) and Lye had the sixth-lowest (73.59). Perna had the seventh-lowest score (75.11) as Arafi was 12th (75.41).
2026 Big South Conference Women's Golf Award Winners
All-Conference Team
First-Team
Katie Stephens, Charleston Southern
Makayla Grubb, High Point
Caroline Patterson, UNC Asheville
Eugenie Varet, Charleston Southern
Anna Howerton, High Point
Second-Team
Eva Lye, High Point
Breanna Hoese, UNC Asheville
Constança Mendonça, Winthrop
Mckenzie Weddle, Radford
Avery Nordman, Longwood
Honorable Mention
Madison Lehr, Longwood
Ella Perna, High Point
Anaïs Arafi, High Point
Abigail Sheldon, Longwood
Shea Smith, Radford
All-Freshman Team
Makayla Grubb, High Point
Eva Lye, High Point
Avery Nordman, Longwood
Alayna Friedt, Winthrop
Elle Overly, Gardner-Webb
All-Academic Team
Katie Stephens, Charleston Southern
Eva Bulger, Gardner-Webb
Anaïs Arafi, High Point
Chiara Wippert, Longwood
Taylor Reaves, Presbyterian
Macy Johnson, Radford
Lauren Madson, UNC Asheville
Madison Dixon, USC Upstate
Constança Mendonça, Winthrop
Golfer of the Year
Katie Stephens, Charleston Southern
Freshman of the Year
Makayla Grubb, High Point
Newcomer of the Year
Madison Lehr, Longwood
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Macy Johnson, Radford
#GoHPU
