FMU: Returning starter....CSC Academic All-District Team 2024....Conference Carolinas 2024 All-Conference Team (second team)....Conference Carolinas 2024 All-Tournament....Conference Carolinas All-Defensive Team 2024....Conference Carolinas Academic All-Conference Team 2024....Conference Carolinas Player of the Week (April 15-21, 2024)....Tremendous first season as a Patriot....NFCA All-Region Team (first team) 2023....D2CCA All-Region Team (first team) 2023....Conference Carolinas All-Conference Team (first team) for 2023....Team MVP for 2023....Started all 55 games in 2023 (31 at SS, 24 at 3B)....Set a school record with 77 runs scored....Ranked second nationally in runs scored per game (1.40)...2023 Conference Carolinas rankings: 1st in runs scored and triples (8), 2nd in stolen bases (28), 3rd in hits (80) and walks (32), 7th in on-base percentage (.514), 8th in hitting (.430) and RBIs (47), tied for 9th in fielding assists (89), 11th in OPS (1.132), 16th in slugging (.618), and 25th in doubles (10)....27 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games....Ended the season with a 10-game hitting streak....Reached base safely in 49 of 55 games....Selected to the 2023 Tucci/ NFCA DII Player & Pitcher of the Year Watchlist....Transfer from Coker University, where she was a two-year starter....Conference Carolinas Player of the Week (March 13-19, 2023)....Excited to have Makayla join our program....Has played at the collegiate level and within our region and found success.....Can’t wait to have her bring that success and even more to our roster.....Athletic, will bat from the left side of the plate, and brings variety in her plate appearances with all the tools she possesses.....Will work in the infield this coming season.....Chi Alpha Sigma national college athlete honor society....NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete 2023, 2024....Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award 2023, 2024....Earned a "Runner-Up Undergraduate Poster" award at the university's 2025 Research & Exhibition Day (RED) for her work "Decreasing the Stigma Around Mental Health"....FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic Honor Roll 2022 (fall), 2023 (spring, fall), 2024 (spring)....Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll 2022 (fall), 2023 (spring, fall), 2024 (spring).
COKER: In 15 games in 2022 before an injury curtailed her year, she batted .348 with a homer, six stolen bases, and six runs batted in....As a freshman in 2021, started 26 contests and hit .280 with 14 runs scored, six RBIs, and a team-high 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts.....Named an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2021 and 2022 and was placed on the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll both years.....Named to Dean's List in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022....D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award 2022.
PERSONAL:
- Born in Charlotte, NC
- Graduate of Porter Ridge High School, where she played for coaches Andy Myers and Rob Love
- Also attended David W. Butler High School (grades 9-to-11), where she played for coaches Kurt Wessler and Taylor Cheek
- 3-time All-Conference selection
- Named her team’s Offensive Player of the Year as a junior – her last full season of play prior to the pandemic
- During the 2019 season, batted .534 with 22 runs scored and 28 driven in.
- Named the Charlotte Observer Player of the Week once in 2017, and garnered Second Super Team recognition in 2018
- Member of the school’s A/B Honor Roll, the Spanish Club, and the Fit for Life organization
- Attended Porter Ridge High School, the alma mater of past FMU infielder Megan Matsil
- Played for the Lady Blues Select Travel Team
- Nickname is KK
PERSONAL FAVORITES:
- As a child what you wanted to be when you grew up: Detective
- How you got your nickname: My grandparents
- Favorite Fictional Character: Forrest Gump
- Favorite Athlete: Derek Jeter
- Favorite Sports Team: New York Yankees
- Favorite Movie or TV Show: Grey’s Anatomy
- Favorite Food: Steak
- Favorite Vacation Spot: Bahamas
- Favorite Musical Artist: Luke Combs
- Favorite Thing About FMU: The beautiful campus and athletic complex
- Favorite Off-Field Activity: Hanging out with family and friends
- Goals for Upcoming Season: Place 1st in conference regular-season standings, win back-to-back Conference Tournament championships, make it further than we did last year in the NCAA Tournament
- Why you first chose your sport: Inspired by my dad and grandpa, who both played baseball
- Biggest mental challenge in your sport: Knowing that pressure is a privilege
- Interesting Notes: The LA Dodgers drafted my grandpa, but the Marine Corps wouldn’t release him; I was selected to play for the 2020 USA America’s Softball Team in the Dominican Republic
