Marshall University Athletics
Timaya Lewis-Eutsey Named League’s Newcomer of Year, Earns First Team All-Conference
3/2/2026 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lewis-Eutsey also part of SBC’s first All-Defensive Team
NEW ORLEANS – Marshall senior Timaya Lewis-Eutsey has been named the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year, the league announced its postseason awards Monday.
Lewis-Eutsey also earned a spot on the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team, the third-consecutive season the Herd has landed a member on the league's highest squad. The senior transfer from VCU additionally was named to the All-Sun Belt Defensive Team, a new award as voted on by the league's coaches.
Lewis-Eutsey finished as the league's leader in scoring with 19.4 points and steals with 3.6 per game - her 112 steals were 34 more than the next closest defender in the league and 4th in NCAA DI. Lewis-Eutsey also finished with 3.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this season. Her 121 assists rank 5th in the league. She has six games with 30-plus points, 12 games with 20-plus points, and 26 games in double figures this season. Lewis-Eutsey finished the regular season 4th in the SBC in field goal percentage (49%).
Timaya is one of only two players in NCAA DI Women's Basketball averaging over 19 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.5 apg and 3.5 spg. She is also one of only seven players in Division I WBB who have at least six games of 30+ points this season. Throughout her consistent play this season, Lewis-Eutsey earned Ann Meyers Drysdale USBWA National Player of the Week on Feb. 10 and was a 3x Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week - the only player to win the award three times in 2025-26.
She scored a career-high 36 points and 8 steals vs. Central Michigan, joining Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo as the only DI WBB players with 36 points & 8 steals in a game this season.
The league's full postseason awards are listed below. Marshall opens its postseason play on Friday at 12:30 p.m. eastern as the tournament's No. 5 seed.
Player of the Year
Kishyah Anderson, Georgia Southern
Defensive Player of the Year
Zay Dyer, Troy
Newcomer of the Year
Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, Marshall
Freshman of the Year
Kinsea Grimes, Coastal Carolina
Sixth Woman of the Year
Mimi McCollister, Arkansas State
Coach of the Year
Hana Haden, Georgia Southern
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
Kishyah Anderson, Georgia Southern
Zay Dyer, Troy
Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, Marshall
Peyton McDaniel, James Madison
Zyion Shannon, Arkansas State
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
Ashanti Barnes, James Madison
Destiny Garrett, Georgia Southern
Jakayla Johnson, Southern Miss
Fortuna Ngnawo, Troy
Crislyn Rose, Arkansas State
All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team
En'Dya Buford, Old Dominion
McKenna Eddings, Georgia Southern
Crystal Henderson, Georgia State
Emani Jenkins, Troy
Kristin Williams, Coastal Carolina
All-Sun Belt Defensive Team
Ashanti Barnes, James Madison
Zay Dyer, Troy
Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, Marshall
Bree Robinson, James Madison
Zyion Shannon, Arkansas State
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