Eva Hudson didn't hide her excitement during UK's comeback win over Wisconsin Thursday. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Eva Hudson was not named the 2025 American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year even though she has Kentucky in the national title game Sunday against Texas A&M.
Instead, Pittsburgh’s Olivia Babcock won the award for the second straight year.
Babcock got Pitt to the Final Four the last three years when she earned All-American honors but no player was more valuable to her team this year than Hudson. She’s a big reason UK is on a 27-match win streak going into the national title game and has already won the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament championships..
Hudson had 29 kills Thursday night in Kansas City including the match-clinching point as UK beat third-seeded Wisconsin 3-2 (12-25, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 15-13). Hudson hit .455 with only four errors on 55 swings against Pitt’s physical defense. She also had seven digs and two blocks.
However, numbers really don’t explain what makes Hudson, a Purdue transfer, so special.
“Hudson can completely take over a match offensively. She begs for the ball and has some of the best celebrations in the game,” former Florida coach Mary Wise, who is now an ESPN analyst, said. “She has been the difference maker for Kentucky.
“There is a big arm and then a bigger arm. She has the ability to get kills in imperfect situations. With the confidence she has, she wants the ball and she delivers.”
Another ESPN analyst, former Northwestern player Emily Ehman, loves Hudson’s competitive spirit.
“Every time Eva Hudson steps on the court and the lights are the biggest she delivers. She is also Kentucky’s best passer out there at times,” Ehman said. “When you get to the 20-point mark, no matter where Hudson is she can take over.”
That’s what she did against Wisconsin after the Cats were embarrassed in the first set. The rest of the way when Kentucky needed a big swing, Hudson was normally the one delivering.
Kentucky coach Craig Skinner tried to recruit Hudson before but had no luck. This time when she went into the transfer portal, he got her to UK for her senior season because she wanted to pursue a national championship and she knew from day one Kentucky could be in this position.
“Honestly, I don’t think there was any growing needed (by our team). Our team knows we’re ready. It’s just a matter of soaking in the environment. Obviously we did not do that the first set (against Wisconsin). Really proud of them to rally and kind of trust in our abilities.”
Skinner believes Hudson saw something special in the Kentucky program that brought her to Lexington.
“Everybody in the stands sees the level of competitor she is. There is zero fear in her eyes. Eva is going to win in life because she is relentless in what she does.”
Brooklyn DeLeye was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2023 and SEC Player of the Year in 2024, an honor Hudson won this season. Their dynamic play has been the key for UK this season and the two clicked almost immediately after Hudson’s arrival.
“I think it was kind of just natural. It’s just been really fun to have someone like Eva in the gym every single day to push me,” DeLeye said earlier this season. “I think it just helps us on the court as well. She was getting kills like crazy, and then I just wanted to do my part to help her out.
“It’s really hard across the net when you have almost every hitter on our side that’s pretty unstoppable. So I think it’s just a testament to how hard we work together.”
2 Responses
It may have hurt Eva with the voters to have such another dominant player on the same team. But I would wager that she would be happier to be a national champion than to be named player of the year.
Good point Karen
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