Heading into an early October Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tilt against South Carolina State, Coppin State senior libero Coco Figueroa was 16 digs away from becoming just the third player in Eagles history to reach 1,500 career digs.
Having averaged 16.6 digs per match this season ahead of the South Carolina State contest, Figueroa was on track to reach the milestone that night. Sure enough, in the third and final set, she hit the 1,500 mark, finishing with 18 digs overall as Coppin State won in straight sets against the Bulldogs.
“Honestly, I did not know coming into the game,” Figueroa said. “I usually try to stay away from numbers or stats. I’m just playing and giving the team my all. … I found out after the game. The stat guy called our coaches and our coaches told me and I was like, ‘OK, wow, this is actually amazing.'”
Figueroa’s team also set a program record with its 11th consecutive victory overall, adding a 12th straight win two days later at North Carolina Central. Figueroa posted 26 digs in the four-set victory.
Not only has Figueroa been playing at a high level, the Eagles have done so as a group. They are looking to put together their fourth 20-win season since 2022 and earn their third trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2023.
“The team has an expectation,” head coach Tim Walsh said. “The coaching staff has an expectation. Everyone has a job. Whether you’re on the court or not on the court, your job is to give it your best. Everyone understands their role for this team.
“We know that if everyone can perform their role, we should make it to the championship game and win another MEAC championship, which is the ultimate goal for us. We’re excited about where we are, but we definitely have to get better. We definitely need to grow.”
A native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Figueroa began her career at Coppin in 2023. The 5-foot-5 libero got a chance to learn from the program’s all-time leader in digs, Ashley Roman, who was in her fifth and final year with the program at the time.
Figueroa blossomed as a sophomore in 2024, going from 1.87 digs per set to 3.82 per set. She finished with 436 digs on the season, quickly becoming one of the conference’s best liberos.
“It was definitely a year of growth,” Figueroa said. “I think being coachable and being open, being OK with mistakes and learning how to grow from mistakes, that’s what I see when I look back to my sophomore year. … I’m not the player now that I used to be then, but you could see I was a player that was trying to learn, trying to get better at the game.”
Figueroa’s breakout sophomore season saw her win MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honors four times and earn first team all-conference honors. Her growth continued rapidly as a junior in 2025, when she was named the 2025 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. She became just the second Coppin State player ever to eclipse 500 digs in a season — not to mention 173 assists and 46 aces, both career highs for her.
Through 20 matches so far in 2026, Figueroa is on pace to surpass 500 digs again and is within striking distance of surpassing Gabrielle Otero for the second-most digs in program history (1,669).
“For me, I knew how good she was,” Walsh said of Figueroa. “I was confident in her when I recruited her. I remember sitting in my AD’s office and them saying, ‘What are you going to do when Ashley leaves?’ I was like ‘Oh, we’ll be fine. We’ll be good. She’s very, very good. She’s going to be amazing.’ I’ve just been in awe.”
Figueroa, who is majoring in biology and life sciences, doesn’t know if she’ll come back for a fifth year as a graduate student. As such, she has been treating this season as her final season in college.
It’s been a bittersweet ride for her for the past several months, but she has forever cemented herself among the best in program history with not just her play on the court but also her impact in the locker room and away from the gym with her teammates.
“I just want to be better,” Figueroa said. “I want to be the best in the game. … I’ve been working really hard for it and I really want it. I’ve never wanted something so bad, so I’m just trying to take it a game at a time and trying to enjoy every one like it’s my last.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Coppin State Athletics
Originally published Oct. 14, 2026