WKU Softball Announces Hiring of Former Sun Belt Player of the Year

WKU softball added a former Sun Belt Player of the Year to its coaching staff. | Louisiana Athletics

Western Kentucky University softball head coach Amy Tudor announced a major addition to her staff on Wednesday. 

Former Sun Belt Player of the Year, Melissa Mayeux, will join the Hilltoppers as an assistant coach for the 2026 season. 

Got a good one! Help us in welcoming Melissa to our coaching staff!#GoTops pic.twitter.com/SGiXnGPjJd

— WKU Softball (@WKUSoftball) October 14, 2025

Mayeux began her collegiate career at Miami Dade College before transferring to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette for her junior year. 

In her three-year stint with the Ragin' Cajuns, Mayeux posted a career batting average of .292, posting 89 total hits and 15 home runs. As a utility, she played seven different positions on the field, including all five infield positions, and finished her career in Louisiana with a .964 fielding percentage. 

Louisiana Athletics

During her final collegiate year in 2022, where she snagged Sun Belt Play of the Year honors, she led the team in batting average (.336), runs (35), hits (42), doubles (12), home runs (6), RBIs (29), and fielding percentage (.989). 

At Miami Dade, Mayeux was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection as a freshman, posting a team-leading .377 batting average with eight home runs, 15 doubles, 31 RBI, and a .715 slugging percentage. 

She repeated first-team all-conference accolades as a sophomore, when she posted a .431 batting average, and a team-best 59 RBIs and 32 extra base hits.

Prior to playing in the U.S., Mayeux, a native of Le Barcares, France, was a member of the French U-18 Junior National baseball team and was accepted to one of two baseball academies in France at the age of 14. 

Her successes in baseball led her to be added to Major League Baseball’s International Registration List, becoming the first woman ever to be eligible to be signed or drafted by an MLB team. 

Martin Meissner, AP

Not long after her collegiate career, Mayeux spent time as an assistant coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Northwestern State. She heads to WKU with extensive knowledge of the diamond.

"I am thrilled to add Melissa to our staff," Tudor said in the press release. "She excelled as a collegiate athlete, as a professional, and currently as a member of the French National Team. Her international experience broadens our recruiting database. She comes highly recommended by several colleagues, and we look forward to getting to work." 

The Hilltoppers are coming off their fifth-straight 30-win season in 2025, going 30-21 overall with a 14-10 record in C-USA play. They landed in second place in the conference, just behind Liberty.

Now with eyes on the 2026 season, WKU has added two transfers, Olivia Pastin (Northern Kentucky) and Anna Mauck (Kentucky), and three freshmen, in hopes of taking the No.1 spot. 

“Joining WKU Softball is an honor and a new chapter in a journey that's been built on hard work, resilience, and love for the game," Mayeux said in the press release. "I can't wait to pour my heart into helping this program continue to rise."