The Woman of the Year Selection Committee has announced the national Top 30 honorees for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Selected from 577 school nominees — a group that was then narrowed to 156 nominees at the conference level — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees represent 14 sports and include nine multisport student-athletes. They have a variety of majors, including biological and biomedical engineering, psychology, business, digital communications, education, nursing, law and policy, and robotics.
"As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we recognize the impact of women on college sports and are honored to select 30 incredible student-athletes who have played instrumental roles on their campus, in their community and on their teams," said Renie Shields, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Saint Joseph's. "This accomplished and diverse group of women represent the millions of student-athletes who have participated in the strong history of women's sports."
The selection committee will select three honorees from each NCAA division, for a total of nine finalists. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.
For the first time in the award's history, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named and the Top 30 will be celebrated at the NCAA Convention, which will be held in January in San Antonio.
Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.
Read below to learn more about each of the NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 honorees:
Kerry Abello
Division I
School: Pennsylvania State University
Conference: Big Ten Conference
Sport: Soccer
Majors: Biological life sciences; Spanish
Penn State's Kerry Abello was a member of Big Ten Conference tournament champion teams in 2019 and 2017 and Big Ten regular-season champion teams in 2020-21 and 2018. She was named to the All-North Region first team by the United Soccer Coaches in 2021, after earning second-team honors in 2019 and third-team honors in 2018. She was also named first-team All-Big Ten in 2021 and 2019, earning the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award and Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2021. Abello was the 2021 and 2020 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division I women's soccer, following first-team honors in 2019 and second-team honors in 2018. She received the Penn State Evan Pugh Scholar Senior and Junior awards, given to those in the top 0.5% of their class. Abello served as a biomedical engineering lab research assistant conducting cancer cell research from 2019 to 2021. She was a two-year team captain and a three-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board THON committee, which helped raise money to fight pediatric cancer through a 46-hour dance marathon. Abello also was a three-year member of the Penn State Presidential Leadership Academy and traveled to Nicaragua on a service trip with Soccer Without Borders in 2018.
Zoe Baker
Division II
School: Colorado School of Mines
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Majors: Computer science; applied mathematics and statistics
Zoe Baker is a nine-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, including seven first-team honors. She finished third in the 5,000 meters at the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships and contributed to a third-place team finish at the 2019 cross country championships. A three-time RMAC individual champion, Baker won the cross country title in 2020, the 3,000 meters (indoor) in 2020 and the 10,000 meters (outdoor) in 2021. She holds four school records. She was named College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division II women's track and field/cross country in 2022, also earning first-team honors in 2021 and second-team honors in 2020. Baker was a two-time NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient, presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average competing at an NCAA championship finals site. A research ambassador and mentor for the MInDS@Mines undergraduate research team, she contributed to projects on degenerative diseases and COVID-19 mortality. She received the 2022 William D. Waltman Award, the school's highest honor for a graduate. Baker also volunteered as a math and science tutor for local high school students and as a presenter with the National Center for Women & Information Technology.
Sylvie Binder
Division I
School: Columbia University-Barnard College
Conference: The Ivy League
Sport: Fencing
Major: American studies, with a special concentration in sustainable development
Sylvie Binder was the National Collegiate fencing champion in foil and helped Columbia earn a national team title in 2019. The three-time U.S. Fencing Coaches Association first-team All-American finished third at the 2022 and 2018 national championships and contributed to third-place (2022) and second-place (2018) team finishes. Binder was the Ivy League women's foil champion and Ivy League Foilist of the Year in 2018 and 2019. She also has represented the United States in international competition, earning a team gold medal at the Junior World Championship in 2018 and silvers in 2017 and 2016. In 2022, she received College Sports Communicators Academic All-America At-Large third-team honors. At Columbia, Binder was named a senior marshal and received the Columbia Spirit Award, given to those who contribute to national recognition for sports, performance, cultural and arts activities, and academics. The 2019-20 team captain was a three-year member of the Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program for incoming freshmen. She also has served as volunteer climate smart community coordinator and lead of the sustainability committee for the town of Rye, New York, since 2021.
Rachel Bredeson
Division II
School: Cedarville University
Conference: Great Midwest Athletic Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Pharmacy
Rachel Bredeson earned first-team U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America honors in the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2022 and the indoor distance medley relay in 2019. She helped lead her team to an 11th-place finish in the 2021 Division II Cross Country Championship. A four-time Great Midwest indoor track and field champion, Bredeson was part of the winning distance medley relay team in 2022 and 2019 and the 4x400 team in 2019 and won the mile in 2020. She holds the top four steeplechase finishes in school history and was named the Yellow Jacket Club Female Athlete of the Year in 2022. Bredeson was named a first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American in 2022 and 2021. In 2021, she received the NCAA Elite 90 Award, presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average competing at an NCAA championship finals site. The two-year cross-country captain and one-year track and field captain also served as president of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association, the central nervous system chair for the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy and the secretary for the Ro Chi pharmacy honor society. She also conducted a research project on the mental health of pharmacy students for the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy.
Savannah Brennan
Division II
School: Florida Institute of Technology
Conference: Sunshine State Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Majors: Genomics and molecular genetics; biomedical science
Savannah Brennan is a three-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches of America All-American, earning first-team honors for the 1000-yard freestyle and second team for the 400 individual medley and 500 free in 2022. Brennan was a four-time Florida Tech Female Swimmer of the Year and holds 10 school records, including one she set with her fifth-place finish in the 1000 free. She was named the 2021-22 Florida Tech Female Athlete of the Year. A two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, Brennan was named to the first team in 2022 following third-team honors in 2021. She was the Sunshine State Scholar-Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years. On campus, Brennan was a four-year team captain and a four-year member of the TriBeta biological honors society, serving as chapter president. She also served as secretary for the Florida Tech chapter of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In 2020, Brennan volunteered in the emergency department of Health First Holmes Regional Medical Center to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was a two-year volunteer with Team IMPACT, which matches children facing chronic illnesses with collegiate sport teams.
Jackie Brown
Division II
School: Adelphi University
Conference: Northeast-10 Conference
Sport: Field hockey
Major: Business management, with a specialization in marketing
Jackie Brown was a 2021 first-team National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American, following second-team recognition in 2019. A three-time Northeast-10 All-Conference selection, Brown earned first-team honors in 2021, 2019 and 2018 and capped her career with NE10 Woman of the Year honors. She was a member of the 2021 runner-up team for the NE10 championship, leading her team to a 2021 NCAA tournament appearance the same year, while also being named the NE10 Sport Excellence Award Winner for field hockey. Brown received College Sports Communicators Academic All-American At-Large third-team honors in 2022, and she was named a 2021 NFHCA Division II Scholar of Distinction, recognizing those with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.9 through the first semester of the academic year. The two-year team captain served as president of her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for two years and as co-chair of the NE10 SAAC. Through her campus SAAC, Brown coordinated a Make-A-Wish dodgeball tournament in 2022 and led a Workout for Wishes campaign in 2021, which raised over $13,500 for Make-A-Wish. She received the Panther Leadership Award three times and was a finalist for the 2021 Adelphi President's Student Leadership Award.
Lizzie Chu
Division III
School: Stevens Institute of Technology
Conference: Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom
Sport: Volleyball
Major: Chemical biology
Libero and defensive specialist Lizzie Chu was a 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association third-team All-American and led her team to NCAA tournament appearances in 2021 and 2019. She received AVCA Division III All-Region IV team honors in 2021 and AVCA All-Region New York team honors in 2018. The two-year captain was named MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 and 2019, leading her team to conference championship wins both years. Chu is ranked fourth in program history with 1,720 digs. She was a three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, earning first-team honors in 2021 and 2020 and third-team honors in 2019. In 2022, she received the Lawrence C.F. Horle Memorial Award for seniors with the highest cumulative grade-point average; the Luigi Pollara Award for outstanding seniors in chemistry, chemical biology or chemical, biochemical and materials engineering; and the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. A two-year member of her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, she also was a two-year member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the national health preprofessional honor society, and four-year member of Stevens Health Professions Club. Chu volunteered as a student mentor with the Hoboken Boys & Girls Club through the Mile City Mentor Program.
Elaina Clancy
Division III
School: Dickinson College
Conference: Centennial Conference
Sports: Cross country, outdoor track and field
Major: Law and policy
Elaina Clancy earned first-team U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American recognition for her fifth-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She was awarded USTFCCCA Division III Track and Field All-Region honors in 2021. Her time of 35:46:56 ranks second all-time at Dickinson and sixth all-time in the Centennial Conference. She also won the 10,000 meters at the 2021 Centennial outdoor championships and came in runner-up in 2022. Clancy, who was on the dean's list all four years at Dickinson, was named the inaugural Division III Commissioners Association Region V Women's Student-Athlete of the Year. She was a four-year member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Dickinson, earning the role of battalion commander of the 80-person battalion. She was awarded the Harry Goldberg Prize for Military Science in 2019, given to the top cadet. A four-year member of Student Senate, Clancy was named class president and Senator of the Year for 2021-22. During her senior year, she was one of eight student-athletes appointed to the school's Hera Society, which seeks to empower and unite female-identifying student-athletes through core values of scholarship, leadership, equality, service, integrity, sportsmanship, tenacity and resiliency.
Jaeda Daniel
Division I
School: North Carolina State University
Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference
Sport: Tennis
Major: Psychology
Jaeda Daniel was the 2022 doubles national champion, claiming the first national title for NC State's women's tennis program. She earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America honors in singles and doubles in 2022, ranking first in the nation in doubles and as high as eighth in singles during the season, and was an ITA All-American in doubles in 2021. The 2022 first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection received the 2022 ITA Most Improved Senior Award and NC State's H.C. Kennett Award, the highest athletic honor for a student-athlete. A summa cum laude graduate, Daniel was a four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete, earning the honor three times at NC State and once at Auburn. She also was a nominee for the 2021 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award. In 2021, she was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, a national honor society that recognizes student-athletes for their success in the classroom and athletics. She served as communications chair for the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and as the Atlantic Coast SAAC representative. Daniel was a leader in Pack United, a student-athlete-led group dedicated to providing awareness, education and action on social issues. She served as vice chair of the group and chair of its fundraising committee. She also volunteered with the Boys and Girls Clubs in Raleigh, North Carolina, and mentored local middle school students of color.
Samantha Drop
Division I
School: University of Georgia
Conference: Southeastern Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Nutritional sciences
Distance runner Samantha Drop earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America honors in 2017 for cross country and honorable mention recognition for outdoor track in 2018. She was the 2017 USTFCCCA Cross Country South Region Women's Athlete of the Year, a four-time NCAA Cross Country All-Region honoree and the 2017 Georgia Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Drop is third on Georgia's all-time list in the 10,000 meters and holds three other top-10 marks. An eight-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree, Drop was Georgia's female nominee for the 2022 H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship, the highest honor for a student-athlete in the SEC. In 2020, she was named the SEC Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned Georgia's Joel Eaves Scholar-Athlete Award as the female student-athlete with the highest grade-point average entering her senior year. The team captain and four-year Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative was inducted in 2019 into the Blue Key National Honor Society, one of Georgia's highest honors, recognizing outstanding character, scholarship, service and leadership. A four-year volunteer with Special Olympics at Georgia, Drop served as an executive board member and gymnastics coach.
Brooke Forde
Division I
School: Stanford University
Conference: Pac-12 Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Human biology
Five-time individual national champion Brooke Forde was a member of two NCAA championship teams (2019, 2018) and was a 19-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American, including 18 first-team honors. A six-time Pac-12 champion, she ranks second all-time at Stanford in the 500-yard freestyle. Forde has represented the U.S. in international competition, winning a silver medal in the 800 free relay at the 2020 Olympic Games and competing in the 400 individual medley at the 2019 FINA World Championships. She was the 2021 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America NCAA Division I At-Large Team Member of the Year and earned first-team recognitions in 2020 and 2022. Forde was named 2021 Pac-12 Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was the co-president of the Stanford Student-Athlete Sustainability Committee and created the Pac-12 Sustainability Committee. She also assisted in creating a sustainability in athletics course at Stanford that has been recognized by the United Nations. Forde received Stanford's 2022 James Lyons Award for Service, recognizing her commitment to environmental sustainability efforts and her volunteer work with the Special Olympics. In 2022, she accepted a two-year assignment with the Peace Corps as a public health officer in rural Peru.
Ellen Gilbert
Division III
School: Illinois Wesleyan University
Conference: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Psychology
Ellen Gilbert was a five-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American, earning first-team honors in 2022 for her sixth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The 2022 and 2020 CCIW Swimmer of the Year and CCIW Championship Meet MVP was an eight-time CCIW individual champion and two-time CCIW Cup champion, recording wins in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly and the 500 freestyle. Gilbert was the Illinois Wesleyan Female Athlete of the Year in 2022 and the team's MVP for four years. The summa cum laude graduate received three College Sports Communicators Academic All-America At-Large honors, including first team in 2022 and 2021 and third team in 2020. She was inducted into the Psi Chi and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies in 2021. On campus, Gilbert served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was co-president of the Rehabilitation Therapy Club and vice president of the Circle K International club. She also volunteered as a tutor for Teaching Buddies, a nonprofit created to help low-income Chicago students with pandemic-induced learning difficulties.
Karenna Groff
Division III
School: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Conference: New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
Sport: Soccer
Major: Biological engineering
Forward Karenna Groff was a member of three NEWMAC championship teams and led her team to three NCAA tournaments, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2021. She earned United Soccer Coaches All-America second-team honors in 2021 and was named the Division III Commissioner's Association Region II Women's Student-Athlete of the Year in 2022. The two-time All-NEWMAC first-team honoree holds the second-fastest hat trick in Division III history at 51 seconds. In 2022, she received an inaugural NEWMAC Student-Athlete of the Year Award, which recognizes academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Groff was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, earning first-team recognition in 2021 and second-team honors in 2020. The 2022 Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society inductee published seven abstracts and four peer-reviewed papers on topics including epilepsy research and global health equity. A two-year team captain, Groff serves as the co-president of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and co-founded OpenPPE in 2020 to help address the global shortage of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Groff also developed and instructs an online MITx course on the impact of COVID-19 in slums, and she helped implement software to reduce maternal mortality in Tamil Nadu, India, which saw a 50.1% decrease in maternal mortality during a two-year pilot study.
Yasmine Hernandez
Division II
School: Colorado State University Pueblo
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Nursing
Two-time individual national champion Yasmine Hernandez won the indoor distance medley relay and outdoor 1,500 meters in 2022. She earned eight U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America first-team honors, and she is ranked seventh all-time for Division II in the 800 and 1,500 meters. Hernandez was the 2022 RMAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and holds six school records. She won CSU Pueblo's Jessie Banks Award for the most outstanding female athlete and the Eddie DeRose Award for the most outstanding athlete in 2021. A summa cum laude graduate, Hernandez was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-American Women's Track & Field/Cross Country first team in 2021 and was honored as the 2022 Division II Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year. A six-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete, the track and field captain coordinated student-athlete study sessions for four years. On campus, Hernandez supported the Suicide Awareness Walk/Run, the Harvest Walk for Special Needs and Dr. Dan's 5k Run/Walk. She also volunteered at local high school track meets and led a group of volunteers for the Youth Pack Relays in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Reagan Janzen
Division III
School: Nebraska Wesleyan University
Conference: American Rivers Conference
Sports: Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Nursing
Reagan Janzen was a three-time first-team U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American after eighth-place finishes in the 2022 outdoor 800 meters and the 2021 outdoor 4x400 relay, and her sixth-place finish in the 2022 indoor 4x400 relay. The four-time American Rivers 800 champion holds three school records and holds 11 indoor top-10 times and seven outdoor top-10 times for Nebraska Wesleyan. Janzen earned 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first-team honors and was a 2022 NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient, presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average competing at an NCAA championship finals site. Janzen was a 2022 inductee of Phi Kappa Phi national honor society and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. On campus, she was a two-year team representative for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and chaired the committee for the WESPYs, an annual athletics award show. Janzen was a four-year member of the Student Nurses Association, serving as president in 2020-21.
Sharde Johnson
Division III
School: Colby College
Conference: New England Small College Athletic Conference
Sports: Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Psychology, with a concentration in neuroscience
Sharde Johnson was the high jump national champion at the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American earned first-team honors for the indoor high jump in 2022 and 2020 in addition to the outdoor high jump in 2021. A three-time All-NESCAC selection, Johnson recorded the eighth-highest indoor jump in Division III history and the second-highest jump in the NESCAC with a 1.78-meter jump in 2020. She holds Colby's indoor and outdoor high jump records and is third all-time for the outdoor triple jump and fourth all-time for indoor. The 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America second-team honoree was named a USTFCCCA Division III Track & Field Women's All-Academic Athlete in 2020 and received six NESCAC All-Academic honors from 2020-2022. Johnson earned Colby's 2022 Paul Perez Prize in Psychology. On campus, the two-year co-captain was selected to serve on the DavisConnects Search Committee for the Colby dean of student and global advancement in 2021 and was a student leader with Colby's African Drumming Ensemble. She also volunteered with the Evening Sandwich Program, making to-go meals to combat food insecurity.
Macy Klein
Division III
School: St. Catherine University
Conference: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Exercise and sport science
Macy Klein was a 10-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American, recording eight first-team honors and two second-team honors. She helped lead her team to 2020 and 2022 MIAC championships and a 10th-place finish in the 2022 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. An 18-time MIAC all-conference honoree and 12-time MIAC champion, Klein holds six records at St. Catherine. She was selected as a 2020 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America At-Large third-team honoree and was the 2020 MIAC Elite 22 recipient for the highest cumulative grade-point average at the conference championships. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 2022 and was a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, a national honor society that recognizes student-athletes for their success in athletics and the classroom. A member of St. Catherine's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps since 2018, Klein became the Minnesota Detachment 410 Cadet Wing vice commander and professional development officer in 2021. Klein received the 2022 Air Force ROTC Distinguished Graduate Award, given to the top 10% of graduates nationally, and was selected for a 10-year service commitment as a pilot and commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force.
Gabriela Leon
Division I
School: University of Louisville
Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference
Sports: Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Health and human performance
Pole vaulter Gabriela Leon was the 2022 outdoor national champion, earning first-team U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America indoor and outdoor honors in 2022, All-America indoor honors in 2020 and outdoor second-team recognition in 2018. She was named the 2022 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year for outdoor. One of four women in NCAA history to clear 15 feet three times in one season, Leon holds the eighth-best mark in history for NCAA Division I women's outdoor pole vault and the indoor and outdoor records at Louisville. The 2021 and 2022 Atlantic Coast outdoor pole vault champion received 11 all-conference honors in pole vault and long jump and was the 2022 Atlantic Coast Female Outdoor Field Performer of the Year. She finished fourth in pole vault at the 2022 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships and 12th at the World Athletics Championships. Leon earned five USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and was recognized as the 2022 Atlantic Coast Track and Field Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. She received a 2022 Atlantic Coast Postgraduate Scholarship and was named a 2022 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar. A five-year member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Leon was a member of Student-Athletes of Color Combining Opportunity and Responsibility for Excellence and Los Cardenales, a student-athlete-led Latinx club. She also read to local children as a Read Across America volunteer.
Grace Lyons
Division I
School: University of Oklahoma
Conference: Big 12 Conference
Sport: Softball
Major: Biomedical engineering
Shortstop Grace Lyons helped her team win the 2022 and 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Championships. She was a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American, earning first-team recognition in 2022 and second team in 2021. In 2022 and 2021, she was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Big 12 selection. A top 10 finalist for the 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Lyons was a member of the 2022 USA Softball Women's National Team. Lyons earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first-team honors in 2022 and second-team recognition in 2021. The 2021 NFCA Scholar Athlete and three-time Academic All-Big 12 first-team selection received the 2021 Big 12 Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the league's highest academic distinction. On campus, Lyons was a three-year member and served on the leadership team for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and she was founder and president of The Player's Conference, a faith-based conference for college athletes. She also served as the softball team liaison to the Oklahoma Athletics Captain's Table, meeting with campus and athletics administrators. Lyons and her classmates worked with the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center to create an app to measure stress indicators as their senior capstone project.
Jessica Meakim
Division II
School: West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Conference: Gymnastics East Conference
Sport: Gymnastics
Majors: Business management; international business
Jessica Meakim was a nine-time USA Gymnastics All-American, with seven first-team honors and two second-team honors. She was also a two-time first-team Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association All-American for the regular season. The 2022 WCGA Division II Region 7 Athlete of the Year earned three All-Gymnastics East Conference honors in 2022 and six All-Eastern College Athletic Conference honors from 2018-2020. She also was awarded the inaugural 2022 GEC Woman of the Year and 2022 Mari-Rae Sopper Award from USA Gymnastics for her perseverance, passion and dedication to the sport of gymnastics. Meakim was named a first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American in 2022 and 2020. The summa cum laude graduate was named the ECAC Division II Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2020 and 2019. At West Chester, she received the 2022 WCU Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, the 2020 WCU Leader Award, 2020 West Chester University 1871 Award and 2019 Madeleine Wing Adler Emerging Leader Award. Meakim is a co-founder of Rams Let's Talk and the Ram's Let's Walk 5K, created to support student-athlete mental health at West Chester, and she has helped raise over $18,000 through partnerships with local mental health organizations. She was the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and volunteered with Unite for Her, a nonprofit aimed at helping those with breast and ovarian cancer.
Erin Nicholas
Division III
School: Middlebury College
Conference: New England Small College Athletic Conference
Sports: Field hockey, lacrosse
Major: Molecular biology/biochemistry
Erin Nicholas was a six-time national champion, earning four field hockey titles and two lacrosse titles, and made history as a member of the first Division III team to win four consecutive NCAA field hockey championships. The overall 2022 DIII Honda Athlete of the Year was a three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Year and two-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player. A three-time NFHCA first-team All-American and two-time Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association first-team All-American, Nicholas was named the Division III Commissioner's Association Region I Women's Student-Athlete of the Year and earned three NESCAC Field Hockey Player of the Year awards. She received Middlebury's A. Bayard Russ '66 Memorial Athletic Award and holds seven top-10 listings in Middlebury's field hockey and lacrosse record book. Her teams had a combined record of 151-9 during her time at Middlebury. A summa cum laude graduate, Nicholas was a three-time first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American. She earned Middlebury's 2022 Charles B. Allen '62 Memorial Prize for biology, chemistry and physics, and she contributed to published research on iliopsoas muscle tightness and lower back pain in ice hockey players in 2020. The field hockey and lacrosse captain was a member of her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and served as a SAAC liaison to the Student Government Association Athletic Affairs Committee. Nicholas was a campus ambassador for Morgan's Message, which aims to eliminate the stigma surrounding student-athlete mental health issues.
Emma Nordin
Division I
School: Arizona State University
Conference: Pac-12 Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Biological sciences, with a concentration in neurobiology, physiology and behavior
Emma Nordin was a 10-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American, with six second-team recognitions in 2022 and 2019. She was the 2020 Pac-12 500-yard freestyle champion and runner-up in the 200 and 1,650 freestyle, and she holds six school records. She was named to the 2021 USA Swimming National Team, finishing fifth in the 400 freestyle at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. In 2022, Nordin was Arizona State's female recipient of the Pac-12's Tom Hansen Conference Medal of Honor and Arizona State's Kajikawa Award, which recognize senior student-athletes for achievements in athletics, academics and leadership. A summa cum laude graduate, Nordin was a 2019 first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-District At-Large honoree and a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American. She received a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship in 2021. A two-year Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member, Nordin led the development of an LGBTQIA+ group for student-athletes as part of Sun Devils United. She also helped create EmpowHER, a program for female empowerment within Arizona State athletics, and she received a 2022 Pac-12 ImPACt leadership grant to attend the Global Women in STEM Leadership Summit.
Jazmin Petrantonio
Division II
School: Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Sport: Field hockey
Majors: Accounting; management, with a concentration in international management
Forward and midfielder Jazmin Petrantonio was a three-time national champion and the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship history, with 10 goals in eight games. The overall 2022 DII Honda Athlete of the Year was a two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II National Player of the Year and a four-time NFHCA All-American. Petrantonio set the Division II single-game assists record (6) in 2017, is ranked second in Division II history for points per game (3.14) and third for career goals (106) and total career points (248). She was the 2021 NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player and a three-time all-tournament selection. The two-time PSAC Field Hockey Athlete of the Year holds three conference records and was a four-time All-PSAC first-team honoree. Petrantonio was a third-team 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and a two-time NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad member. In addition to being vice captain of the field hockey team for 2019-20, Petrantonio was the president of Shippensburg University Women Business Leaders and Accounting Club. She volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club of Shippensburg and the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, providing free tax assistance to limited English speakers and people with disabilities.
Kendall Sanders
Division III
School: Centenary College (Louisiana)
Conference: Midwest Independent Conference
Sport: Gymnastics
Major: Biology
Kendall Sanders was a five-time USA Gymnastics All-American, earning three first-team honors in 2022 and 2019 and second-team honors in 2020 and 2019. She also was a first-team Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division III Regular Season All-American for the all-around in 2022, 2021 and 2020. Sanders earned second-team All-Midwest Independent Conference honors in 2021 for the all-around and floor. She was voted as the Centenary Gymnastics Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020-22. The 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America At-Large first-team honoree accrued four WCGA Scholastic All-American awards and three USAG Scholar Athlete recognitions. Sanders was team captain in 2021-22 and helped establish a partnership between the gymnastics team and Mothers Against Drunk Driving in memory of a teammate killed by a drunk driver in 2018. Through the partnership, the team organized a Walk Like MADD fundraiser and shared resources to raise campus awareness. The three-year campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member was inducted into the TriBeta biology honor society and served as the treasurer of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the national health preprofessional honor society. Sanders also volunteered with Common Ground Shreveport, providing local families with food, clothing and educational resources.
Ivana Shah
Division I
School: University of Akron
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Sport: Golf
Major: Biomedical engineering, with a concentration in biomaterials and tissues
Ivana Shah was named to the All-MAC tournament team after her fifth-place finish at the 2021 MAC Women's Golf Championship and led her team to third-place finishes in 2021 and 2022. She posted a career-best 75.47 stroke average during the 2019-20 season. Shah was a summa cum laude graduate and four-time Women's Collegiate Golf Association All-American Scholar, as well as a student researcher in the biomedical engineering lab. A finalist for the 2022 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award, she was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, a national honor society that recognizes student-athletes for their success in the classroom and athletics. Shah received the LPGA Foundation's 2021 Dinah Shore Trophy for academics, athletics, leadership skills and community service and Akron's Williams Honors College 2022 Hunter Award for leadership and commitment to community service. The three-year campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member served as treasurer, as well as community service and outreach chair. She worked with Undergraduate Student Government to connect student-athletes to mental health resources and went on to become a certified Mental Health First Aider. Shah co-founded Call to Action, which connects volunteers to Akron nonprofits.
Sophie Srivastava
Division III
School: Chapman University
Conference: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Sport: Volleyball
Major: Psychology
Setter Sophie Srivastava received All-America honorable mention recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2021 and 2019. She was named to the 2021 AVCA Region 10 first team and the 2019 AVCA West Region first team. The Division III Commissioners Association Region X Women's Student-Athlete of the Year recorded the most triple-doubles across all three divisions during the 2021-22 and 2019-20 seasons. Srivastava was named the 2021 SCIAC Athlete of the Year and received first-team All-SCIAC honors in 2021, 2019 and 2018. A 2019 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree and three-time SCIAC All-Academic team member, she was named Chapman's SCIAC Scholar Athlete in 2022. Srivastava was Chapman's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2022. The recipient of Chapman's Outstanding Research Award, Srivastava was an undergraduate research assistant for the early human and lifespan development, computational analysis of health behavior and health psychology labs, and she conducted an independent study examining perceptions of the homeless population. The volleyball co-captain was also co-president of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and secretary of the Gamma Beta Phi national honors and service society. She also served as the student council representative for the Western Psychological Association and presented at a 2022 Society for Personality and Social Psychology conference.
Kayla Tennant
Division II
School: Queens University of Charlotte
Conference: Bluegrass Mountain Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Majors: Biology; psychology
Kayla Tennant was a three-time individual national champion, winning the 400-yard freestyle relay in 2022 and the 200 and 400 medley relays in 2021. She led her team to three national championships and earned 11 Coaches Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-America honors, including seven first-team recognitions. The 18-time All-Bluegrass Mountain Conference honoree won six individual conference titles, helping her team claim four conference championships. Tennant holds the school record for the 100 butterfly. A summa cum laude graduate, she received two first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American At-Large recognitions. Tennant was a finalist for the 2022 NCAA Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship and a recipient of a 2022 NCAA Elite 90 Award, presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average competing at an NCAA championship finals site. The 2022 Queens Outstanding Student in Biology and Outstanding Student in Psychology has published research on student-athletes' social supports during the pandemic and the genome annotation of novel bacteriophages. Tennant was a team captain and served as secretary of Unified Royals, promoting inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a volunteer, she assisted with care for children with developmental disabilities and behavioral disorders, patients in pediatric cardiac intensive care and adults in a medically underserved area needing specialty cardiac care.
Hanna Thrainsdottir
Division II
School: Georgian Court University
Conference: Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
Sports: Basketball, outdoor track and field
Majors: Digital communication; psychology
Two-time CACC champion Hanna Thrainsdottir was a member of the 2021 CACC regular-season champion basketball team, leading her team to the second round of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball East Regional. She also was a member of the 2022 CACC outdoor champion track and field team, placing third in the high jump. Thrainsdottir was chosen by the Icelandic Fulbright Commission for a 2022 Fulbright Fellowship. The two-time Georgian Court Scholar-Athlete of the Year received the 2022 Academic Excellence Award and the 2022 School of Business and Digital Media Advisory Council Emerging Leader Award. A 2021 Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award recipient, she earned the CACC's Top XVI Award for the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average at a championship. She received Georgian Court's 2021 Award for Excellence in Academics, Research and Community Service in Psychology and has presented at academic conferences on media studies and psychology. On campus, Thrainsdottir served as president of LGBTQ@GCU and was a member of the programming committee for the Council for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. A journalist with the student-run newspaper, she was a member of the School of Business and Digital Media Student Advisory Council and mentored new international students through the Office of Global Education.
Katie Titus
Division II
School: Daemen University
Conference: East Coast Conference
Sports: Basketball
Major: Childhood and special education
Forward Katie Titus was a first-team Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-American in 2022 and received Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America honorable mention recognition in 2021. Titus was named the 2022 Division II CCA East Region Player of the Year after leading her team to two consecutive NCAA Division II East Regionals. A three-time All-East Coast Conference first-team selection, she led her team to conference championship titles in 2022 and 2020. The 2022 East Coast Player of the Year and Daemen Female Athlete of the Year holds the Daemen program career record in free-throw percentage (.855), and she is third in career 3-pointers, sixth in career blocks and seventh in career rebounds. Titus was named a second-team 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and became Daemen's first East Coast Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2022. The team captain was an executive board member of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a three-year mentor for freshman student-athletes. A co-recipient of the conference 2022 Excellence in Community and Character Award, she interned with Pencils of Promise, creating a curriculum for teachers in Ghana, Guatemala and Laos. She also served as the Daemen fellow for Team IMPACT, which matches children facing chronic illnesses with collegiate sports teams, and volunteered at local elementary schools.
Victoria Tran
Division I
School: U.S. Naval Academy
Conference: Patriot League
Sport: Soccer
Major: Robotics and control engineering
Victoria Tran was a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-Region selection, earning north region first-team honors in 2020 and third-team honors in 2019. The 2020-21 Patriot League Midfielder of the Year was a four-time All-Patriot League honoree and led her team to two league championship titles, scoring the game-winning goal in 2019. Tran contributed to Navy's 2020 and 2019 NCAA tournament appearances. She was the Navy Class of 2022's recipient of the Cheryl Dolyniuk Carlan Trophy, given to a female midshipman who excelled in athletics, leadership and academics throughout her four years. She was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, with first-team honors in 2020 and third team in 2019. The Patriot League Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2020 and 2021, Tran graduated ranked 11th in her class for Overall Order of Merit, determined by performance in academics, conduct, physical education, athletics and aptitude for commissioning, and sixth in Military Order of Merit. She served as an operations officer and a supply/wardroom officer for Navy's 12th Company (2021-22) and as a platoon sergeant and an academics sergeant with Navy's 2nd Platoon (2020-2021). Tran volunteered with Athletes for Hope for two years, and she was a three-year volunteer with Special Olympics and Mids for Kids.
