Smith Named MEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Senior forward Abbie Smith of the Concord University women's basketball team has been selected as the Mountain East Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon.

Smith, a native of Little Hocking, Ohio caps her highly-decorated career, with one of the most prestigious awards of her career. Dating back to when the MEC Scholar-Athlete Award was started in the summer of 2015, Smith is the first female Concord student-athlete to garner the honor—and just the second overall, joining Anthony Stehlin (Concord baseball) in 2022.

During her senior season, Smith was a Second Team Academic All-American as presented by the College Sports Communicators (CSC). She earned Second Team All-American honors from the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) for her on-the-court performance. Prior to the All-American honors, Smith was voted as the MEC Player of the Year. Smith was second in the MEC in scoring (18.8) and first in rebounding (10.9). She finished the year shooting 57 percent from the field and 85.7 percent at the foul line while recording 18 double-doubles. Smith ranked top 15 in Division II in rebounding, overall field-goal percentage and foul shooting.

In the classroom, the eight-time member of Concord's Dean's List graduated with honors as she finished her college career with a 3.83 GPA in business administration. She was CSC Academic All-District three times and a four-time member of the All-MEC Academic Team. Other academic accolades include picking up the Concord Inspire Award from the CU Business Department this spring, and being part of the Business Honor Society, Delta Mu Delta.

"She is talented, but also her work ethic, leadership, competitiveness, loyalty and influence on her teammates stand out," Concord women's basketball head coach Tesla Southcott said.

"The lasting impact she left at Concord is shown in the record books, but I also hope is felt conference wide. Abbie is a driven individual that showed not only on the basketball court, but also in the classroom and community daily. There is no ceiling for this young lady whether it be on the court or the classroom and I can think of no one more deserving of this award."

Smith finished her career scoring 1,911 points and grabbed 1,129 rebounds, both top three in program history. She also ranks top five in program history in field-goal percentage (54.4), free-throw percentage (78.6), blocks (112) and games played (119).

She was a four-time All-MEC selections, earning second team as both a freshman and sophomore and elevating to the first team in her final two years.
The MEC Scholar-Athlete is selected by administrators from each of the conference schools as well as well league administrators at the MEC League Office.

Fairmont State All-American wrestler Colton Stoneking was the MEC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A complete history of MEC Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year is listed below.
 
MEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award Winners
2014-15: Nichole Perry (Charleston, Basketball)
2015-16: Lauren Langenderfer (Notre Dame, Basketball)
2016-17: Kayce Krucki (Wheeling Jesuit, Volleyball)
2017-18: Mackenzie Harrison (Fairmont State, Volleyball)
2018-19: Kristine Gegeshidze (Charleston, Tennis)
2019-20: Haley Kramer (Wheeling, Volleyball)
2020-21: Sierra Kotchman (Fairmont State, Basketball)
2021-22: Audrey Tingle (West Liberty, Basketball)
2022-23: Abbey Dennis (Frostburg State, Soccer)
2023-24: Nyia Setla (West Liberty, Volleyball)
2024-25: Emilee Weakley (Frostburg State, Basketball)
2025-26: Abbie Smith (Concord, Basketball)