2025-2026 Bradshaw Scholarship Winners

Nine “Class of 2026” student-athletes named regional Willie Bradshaw Memorial Endowed Scholars

CHAPEL HILL—Nine North Carolina High School Athletic Association “Class of 2026” student-athletes are this year’s regional recipients of the Willie Bradshaw Memorial Endowed Scholarships.

This year’s recipients, with sports interests as diversified as those of Bradshaw – who excelled as a professional baseball pitcher, as well as a high school football and basketball coach – are united by their commitments to reinvest in their communities’ health, safety and wellness like Bradshaw – a Durham native, Hillside High School and North Carolina Central University graduate who thrived as a school building and central office pioneer essential to the integration of education-based athletics in North Carolina. Their own words offer insight into their undergraduate and professional inspirations and aspirations.

Tatum Alston (Independence HS – Charlotte):
Undergraduate field – Exercise Science/Kinesiology/Sports Medicine
Quote – “I have seen how access to healthcare is not equal, and I want to help change that
through outreach, mentorship, and culturally responsive care.”

London Barber (Gates County HS):
Undergraduate field – Forensics
Quote – “Pursuing an educational focus in forensics requires compliance in dissecting details, mastering processes, and diligence in seeking ways to advance how we support the world through science.”

Paxton Black (Harnett Central HS):
Undergraduate field – Education
Quote – “Field helped me see that finding a different passion can actually help drive your first one.”

Mireya Chavez (Sanderson HS – Raleigh):
Undergraduate field – Exercise Science
Quote – “I want to learn more about nutrition, sports medicine, and potentially physical therapy.”

Alyssa DeBerry (Leesville Road HS – Raleigh):
Undergraduate field – Kinesiology
Quote – “My dream is to serve as a military veterinarian, then open a swine veterinary practice.”

Chelsea Lowe (McMichael HS – Mayodan):
Undergraduate field – Biology
Quote – “I was nervous at the dentist until I met someone who made me feel safe and respected. I noticed how much confidence good dental care can bring, and how it can change the way a person sees themselves.”

Adrian Monford (Cox Mill HS – Concord):
Undergraduate field – Health Science
Quote – “Studying health science would give me the knowledge to help athletes perform at their peak and optimize their longevity and health.”

Ricky Myers (Independence HS – Charlotte):
Undergraduate field – Business Administration/Physical Therapy
Quote – “I’ve always wanted to understand how things work — whether that’s how a business runs or how the human body recovers and performs.”

Emmanuel Watkins (Southwest Guilford HS):
Undergraduate field – Visual Arts
Quote – “Creating art has been challenging because I am never satisfied. Through the perseverance I gained participating in sports, I have been able to keep going and keep creating.”

Bradshaw, after serving several schools during segregation and integration as a teacher-coach and athletic director, became the state’s first Black school system (city-county) athletic director in Durham City Schools (before the city-county merger that formed Durham Public Schools) and retired in 1991. Bradshaw served as president of the North Carolina Coaches Association (NCCA) and North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA), and was enshrined in the National High School Sports Hall of Fame (along with several other halls). Bradshaw died in 2015 at age 86.

Each regional recipient will receive a one-time $750 scholarship to be applied to postsecondary education. One male and one female will be announced as state award winners and will receive an additional one-time $1,000 scholarship at the NCHSAA annual celebration on June 10 in Greensboro.