NORFOLK, Va. – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has named volleyball standout
Ashley Roman from Coppin State University as the 2024 Woman of the Year. Roman is the fourth-straight CSU student-athlete, and fifth overall, to win the conference honor, following Christina Epps (2014), Salma Gonzales (2021), Cathryn Lane (2022) and Miajavon Coleman (2023). She joins Epps, Gonzales and Coleman as volleyball players to receive the award during that stretch.
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. Roman 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
Ashley Roman as the 2024 MEAC Woman of the Year," MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said. "Ashley'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 Ashley's family, for their part in her success, and I know she'll continue to represent both Coppin State and the MEAC well."
"As a first-generation Latina college student-athlete, I always dreamed of becoming a doctor while playing volleyball," said Roman. "Born and raised in Puerto Rico, leaving my family and friends so young has been one of my biggest challenges, but I'm glad that I was brave enough to overcome my fears and work diligently."
"The discipline and sense of responsibility that I developed at Coppin State has been a huge steppingstone to achieve my goals. I have been part of outstanding experiences such as being a laboratory student researcher and to be part of several clubs and organizations on campus. I'm beyond grateful for being able to embrace my roots through the sport that I love by being part of the MEAC's Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Committee, which motivated me to become the founder and president of the Latinx Unidos Club."
"I have grown as a person while being aware of how impactful the role of a student-athlete is. It's all about dedicating your days to the sport that you love while excelling in the classroom, but also being open to serve and give to others. I will be eternally grateful for it teaching me to trust my abilities and knowledge, and to never give up because I keep amazing myself with all of the things of which I'm capable of. My younger self would be proud of the woman that I have become. I consider Coppin State University as my home away from home."
Roman helped Coppin State volleyball prosper during her time, winning at least a share of MEAC regular-season titles in 2020, 2022 and 2023 – capping off a successful career with the Eagles first MEAC Championship Title in 2023. Since the awards' inception, Roman earned the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year award four consecutive years from 2019-23 and is the only student-athlete to earn the accolade. She also garnered First Team All-MEAC honors five times.
She is the program's all-time leader in career digs (2,402) while ranking fifth in Coppin history in career service aces (125). Roman is the only Coppin State volleyball player to record 2,000 career digs and is the MEAC's all-time leader in the category.
A native of Isabela, Puerto Rico, Roman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Life Sciences, graduating with a 3.82 GPA. From 2021-24, she served as a senator on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and in 2023-24 she was the founder and president of Coppin's Latinx Unidos Organization. Roman was a four-time MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic and MEAC Volleyball All-Academic team honoree. She was also an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) East All-Region Team honorable mention (Spring 2021), the first Eagles volleyball player to ever earn AVCA All-Region honors. Roman was also the only libero recognized on the East All-Region Team that season.
Roman is a strong advocate for Hispanic and Latinx student-athletes, serving on the MEAC Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month Committee, which started in 2022 as part of the league's "We Are MEAC" yearlong diversity and inclusion initiative. Additionally, she founded Latinix Unidos, a club for Hispanic and Latinx students at Coppin State.
She was even more active in the community. In 2019 and 2020, she volunteered for Earthquake/Hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. Roman participated in the 2023 Mayor's Baltimore City Clean-up Day, as well as serving on the Maryland Board of Regents as a student representative during the 2023-24 year.
On campus, Roman served as a campus tutor and volunteered in the CSU Eagle Achievement Center as a mentor for freshmen and transfers.
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/Volleyball)
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)
2024 Ashley Roman, Coppin State (Volleyball)
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 54th year of intercollegiate competition with the 2024-25 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.
