California Irvine Athletics

IRVINE, Calif. – Jeff Perkins has been named the Big West Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year the conference office announced Friday morning.
 
Perkins led UC Irvine to the first Big West Women's Track & Field Championship in program history. The Anteaters compiled their second-best conference point total at 150.5 to finish atop the team standings. UCI had 13 All-Big West performances (top-3), led by event wins from Jazzmine Davis in the 400m hurdles and Luz Mercado in the 800m. Davis, who scored 20 individual points and contributed to 11 relay points, was named the Women's Track Athlete of the Meet. It marked the third-straight year Perkins has coached an individual to Big West Athlete of the Meet honors.
 
Perkins saw a school-record 10 student-athletes (13 entries) qualify for the women's NCAA West First Round. Zharia Taylor led the group as she tied for ninth in the high jump to advance to nationals where she earned second-team All-America honors. Taylor was UCI's first NCAA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship qualifier since 2009, and first All-American since 1997.

In 2025, the 'Eaters combined for 32 marks that rank among the program's all-time top-10, including a school record in the 4x400 relay.
 
This is Perkins' first career Big West Coach of the Year honor. He joins Vince O'Boyle (1996) and Danny Williams (1990, 1991) in UC Irvine's elite group of Big West Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year award winners.