Hannah O'Day to Represent Lake Forest in NCAA Woman of the Year Program

Photo by Emma Varsbergs
Photo by Emma Varsbergs

The record 585 female college athletes nominated by member institutions for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award were announced Wednesday, a list that includes Forester basketball player Hannah O'Day.

O'Day, who transferred to the College in 2016, completed her three years at the College with 597 points and ranked among the programs all-time leaders with a .808 free throw percentage and .327 three-point field goal percentage in her career. She helped lead the Foresters to the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament each of the last two seasons and was a Second Team All-MWC selection as a junior.

Successful in the classroom as well, O'Day graduated from Lake Forest in May with a 3.96 cumulative grade point average. Next month the business and entrepreneurship double-major is expected to be announced as an Academic All-Midwest Conference honoree for the third year in a row and she earned the league's Elite 20 Award in February for having the highest cumulative grade point average of any player at the conference tournament.  

from NCAA.com

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.

The nominees competed in 23 different sports across all three NCAA divisions, including 262 nominees from Division I, 131 from Division II and 192 from Division III. Multisport student-athletes account for 144 of the nominees.

Next, conferences will select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30 and announce the nine finalists in September. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual award ceremony October 20 in Indianapolis.

NCAA Release (includes complete list)