On Thursday, NCAA member schools released their nominations for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. This award is meant to recognize female student-athletes who have “distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college career.” In total, 577 different student-athletes were nominated, with 248 from Division I, 127 from Division II, and 202 from Division III.
Schools are allowed to nominate one graduating senior female student-athlete for the award, and up to two per school can be recognized if one of the student-athletes is either a person of color or an international student.
In total, 46 out of 577 student-athletes nominated were swimmers or divers. Two of the biggest-name swimmers nominated include Tokyo Olympian Brooke Forde and 2022 NCAA Champion Lia Thomas.
Forde was a member of Stanford’s women’s swim team for five years and has won a total of five NCAA titles, including two individual ones (the 500 free in 2019 and the 400 IM in 2021). She is also an Olympic silver medalist, having swam the heats of the 4×200 free relay last year in Tokyo. After NCAAs this year, Forde said that she was going to retire from swimming and join the Peace Corps in Peru.
Thomas was the winner of the 500 free at this year’s NCAA Championships, becoming the first openly transgender DI NCAA champion and the first swimmer from the Penn women’s team to win a national title. She swam on the Penn men’s team for the first three years of her career, and began transitioning to become a woman in 2019.
Other notable swimmers and divers nominated include five-time NCAA champion diver Sarah Bacon of Minnesota, All-American and SEC record holder Riley Gaines of Kentucky, and Pac-12 champion Emma Nordin of Arizona State.
In September, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee will select ten nominated athletes in each division to make a list of Top 30 honorees. Then, the Committee will select three honorees from each division and announce nine finalists. From those nine finalists, one will be named as the Woman of the Year.
See the full list of swimmers and divers nominated for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year here:
| Name | School | Division |
| Kaitlyn Agger | Wingate University | DII |
| Sarah Bacon | University of Minnesota | DI |
| Claudia Barnett | Washington and Lee University | DIII |
| Savannah Brennan | Florida Institute of Technology | DII |
| Johanna Buys | University of Indianapolis | DII |
| Elizabeth Caird | Saginaw Valley State University | DII |
| Zoe Chan | The College Of New Jersey | DIII |
| Molly Craig | Williams College | DIII |
| Lydia DaCorte | Wheaton College | DIII |
| Autumn D’Arcy | California State University, Bakersfield | DI |
| Hanna Everhart | Duquesne University | DI |
| Maddie Ford | Connecticut College | DIII |
| Brooke Forde | Stanford University | DI |
| Ciara Franke | University of California, San Diego | DI |
| Riley Gaines | University of Kentucky | DI |
| Sara Gendron | Bryant University | DI |
| Ellen Gilbert | Illinois Wesleyan University | DIII |
| Clio Hancock | Emory | DIII |
| Sydney Harrington | U.S. Naval Academy | DI |
| Mary Hufziger | Tufts University | DIII |
| Macy Klein | St. Catherine University | DIII |
| Susan Elizabeth LaGrand | Oakland University | DI |
| Sophie Lear | Ursinus College | DIII |
| Drew Lei-Alerta | Sarah Lawrence College | DIII |
| Madelynn Marunde | Augustana College (Illinois) | DIII |
| Kara McCurdy | Providence College | DI |
| Anna Metzler | University of New Hampshire | DI |
| Anna Miram | Wingate University | DII |
| Emmerson Ann Mirus | Kenyon College | DIII |
| Madelyn Moore | University of Northern Colorado | DI |
| Kathryn Murhpy | Mount Holyoke College | DIII |
| Emma Nordin | Arizona State University | DI |
| Felicia Pasadyn | Harvard University | DI |
| Anna Pilecky | University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point | DIII |
| Kathryn Power | University of Houston | DI |
| Delaney Schnell | University of Arionza | DI |
| Siena Senn | Davidson College | DI |
| Grace Sill | Sunshine State Conference | DII |
| Kate Steward | University of Kansas | DI |
| Jesse Stovall | Southwestern University (Texas) | DIII |
| Camryn Streid | University of Cincinnati | DI |
| Emily Sweet | Bentley University | DII |
| Kayla Tennant | Queens University of Charlotte | DII |
| Lia Thomas | University of Pennsylvania | DI |
| Sarah Thompson | University of Missouri | DI |
| Jessica Touve | Bridgewater College (Virginia) | DIII |
It’s interesting that some are willing to gain a bit of supposed inclusiveness at the expense of a ton of fairness. In most of life’s endeavors, it doesn’t matter whether one is a man or a woman; competitive sports is a rare area where it does matter. Hardly anyone wants to stop a transwoman from competing in sports. It simply boils down to competing against men or against women; it should be the former. If that’s unfair to transwomen, well that’s a handful of athletes. Having transwomen compete against the latter is unfair to *about half the athletes*, i.e., biological women. Am I wrong? If your answer is based on FACTS: no; if your answer is based on “feelings”: maybe,… Read more »
No.
A further stain on the history of post-pubescent female athletics…not being part of the future means common sense prevails.
Sure. Hasn’t even fully transitioned in addition to never having gone through any of the biological hardships that come with being female. Let’s give her the title. SMDH.
It’s a cakewalk to be trans, though.
This terf stuff is tiresome. The fantastic reasoning of “if only we separate our struggle from their struggle, then we’ll be better off.”
The terf talk is winning no supporters. I support any trans person and their endeavors gladly but refuse to reduce womanhood to a “feeling” or a stereotype. Being a woman has meant so many things throughout history – many of them unenviable. It isn’t a feeling or a way of dressing. I’m sure being trans is challenging. So is growing up female.
But instead of trying a little introspection, continuing to creatine distinctions where none need be is the move. Cool.
I do not think you “support any trans person and their endeavors,” at least not when you think those endeavors infringe on what a “proper woman” deserves.
I like that you also added the li’l bit about “fully transitioned” as if that’s somehow something that would move someone further towards “full woman” status for you.
Being a trans woman also means being a woman, this can also be the history we create. But you’re sort of fighting against that.
I wonder, Steve, why you consider yourself the expert when I’d venture to say that you have never had a skin in this game. As someone who has been a woman for over fifty years, I also wonder why you feel entitled to tell me how women’s history should be created.
I’m a former OT qualifier and a mother of boys. Remember when you went through puberty and put on a ton of muscle? That’s the time that girls put on body fat in order to later carry children. It’s also the time we start menstruating in order to carry children. Which of these do you think enhances one’s athletic performance? Which one is a constant struggle that has to… Read more »
I have, many times, said I am far from an expert on basically anything.
There are plenty of “constant struggle(s) that (have) to be managed and overcome” as a trans woman, too. I am not trying to diminish the struggle of any one group, but I am trying to figure out why one historically oppressed group finds it so necessary to continue to ensure another, very currently much more maligned group, continues to find itself in that situation.
I do have skin in this game, and it’s to create as inclusive a world as possible. It’d be nicer if everyone thought that way, too.
Thank you for noticing, I sure do it a lot.
you support your own version of the world and whatever you approve. You have no clue what she’s been through. Every sentence you write reeks of “I am no racist but”
I don’t know what she has been through. I know personally what being a female athlete during a period where muscles were not seen as feminine was like. I know what swimming upstream through cultural expectations is like. I know what all of the physical and mental stakes of being female are like. I know how I felt when I was 17 and the boys would routinely joke about breaking women’s American records in practice.
Smartest comment I’ve heard on this topic GBTX. As a male I have somewhat understood however acknowledge the struggle of women throughout history. Many countries still opress and denigrate women. You are so right, being a women is certainly much more than a feeling, an intention or the way someone dresses. If we’re being specific, being a woman is written into every cell of your body, no amount of androgen therapy or clothing will change that. Women have had to fight for equality long enough, let’s not add Cis males to sporting competitions based on strength and speed, which is why the genders were separated in the first place.
Really, Penn?
Gotta think Penn is doing this to infuriate peop!e.
I think Lia being nominated makes sense, given that the nomination comes from UPenn and not some governing body looking at all ncaa athletes and their individual achievements, weighed with their contributions to the community. My guess is that there aren’t any other National Champions who’ve made multiple national headlines competing for the Quakers this year. Like it or not, what she did and accomplished this year was groundbreaking.
Groudbreaking for sure, friend.
From a strictly UPenn point-of-view, there might be something to this. Quick perusal of their women’s athletics site:
-Bball was 12-14 overall and 7-7 in conference, didn’t make the NCAA tournament
-XC was 10th out of 27 in the NCAA regional, not advancing anyone
-Fencing was 7th at NCAAs with what looks like the best individual finish was 14th?
-Field Hockey was 9-7 overall, 5-2 in conference, didn’t make the NCAA tournament
-Golf was last in conference, no NCAAs
-Gymnastics only took one person to a regional, and they placed 19th in their event there
-Lax was 6-9 overall, 3-4 in conference, no NCAA tournament
-Rowing got 4th out of 8th at… Read more »
They also nominated a Tennis player from Russia, no need to default.
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/bryzgalova-named-northeast-region-senior-player-year
Most people getting mad about the Lia Thomas nomination couldn’t tell you who won last year’s woman of the year award without googling it.
And if that’s the case… Why do you pretend to care so much? If you really cared about the sport maybe we’d be losing a lot less programs to Title IX than we have, where is that passion and outrage when schools across the country are forced to end their programs?
Let’s be honest with ourselves. This has nothing to do with swimming. And everything to do with the bigotry and rot that exists within the swimming community.
Yes, because last year woman of the year was softball player. I’m not invest in collegiate softball sport enough to care.
I “pretend” to care because we cannot continue to pretend that this…. situation… is in any way fair to women’s competition in sport. FINA agreed as such, following example of practically every individual who know anything at all about basic human endocrinology, biology, anatomy development, anything of sort. Whataboutism and bringing up other subject not relevant here, pls keep away. Two issue can exist at once, thx.
But what will you do when another trans athlete comes along and wins even bigger titles?
Because if puberty is such a big driver of athletic success as we’ve been lead to believe over the last year*, it’s not impossible that we’ll see both trans men and trans women in elite competitions in the next decade that can legally compete under these new rules.
*I’m still not sure if this really is as a direct link as everyone’s been saying recently – could just be the path of least resistance to overturning the rules that allowed Lia to compete (rules that were in place for more than a decade without anyone noticing) or it could be a natural… Read more »
Wowzers
Thank you for your lovely addition to this conversation, turboturtle.
The fact that you are are confused that puberty is different for a male and a female deserves a wowzers.
Is that what I said? I think you’re missing my point, so I’ll spell it out a bit more thoroughly for you.
If puberty is the main driver of athletic performance – which I am granting for this argument, not saying it’s necessarily the case (because up until this year, rules were in placed not based on puberty, but managed levels of testosterone) – then a trans man or trans woman, who does not undergo their puberty as assigned at birth, should have the same likelihood of achieving elite athletic performance as a cis man or cis woman. (Puberty blockers plus hormone therapy leading to what is far more closely aligned with a cis puberty.)
So! Why would… Read more »
i think a lot more people would accept that, yes.
i def think i would.
its gonna be interesting if we’ll ever see it tho bc transitioning that early is illegal in many places and the factors coming together of being trans, transitioning that early and being a talented athlete, sticking with HRT and the sport until they’re like 20+ is gonna make that pool of people really really tiny or even 0 sometimes. we’ll see
I’m honestly glad you’d accept it! (I think a lot of people just simply haven’t thought about it, much like they never really thought of a case like Lia Thomas. And we uh, sorta saw how that was and is being received overall.) I think more people would be ok with it, but have no idea what percentage.
I also agree that based on our current trajectory – which has really veered towards making life harder, if not impossible, for trans people all across the country very quickly – it’s less likely to happen than if we actually supported trans people nationwide. (Ideally we’ll pull ourselves out of this tailspin though.)
Yes, I would accept a transwoman who had not gone through male puberty competing fully and openly with cis women. I also have no problem with Lia Thomas being nominated for this award.
I do have a problem with a woman who has gone through male puberty competing with cis women.
Puberty is largely the difference maker in the equation…scientific fact.
But we had rules in place for more than a decade, based on science, that didn’t legislate based on puberty but instead current testosterone levels. So I’m not jumping to conclusions based on what the “scientific fact” may be! (It’s not like we have a lot of data points, y’know? And, ideally, we’ll get a ton more soon.)
And it’s a big reason why I asked the question I did – will we accept a trans man or a trans woman winning major competitions under these new, puberty-based rules? Or will we do the same thing we did with Thomas, and find a different reason to legislate them out of the competition.
From everything I’ve seen over the last… Read more »
Shouldn’t have even started to head down the crossover road…Let the transitioned athletes compete against each other but in a separate category and at the same meets for efficiency and inclusion purposes…perhaps? Dunno, would that not be acceptable to them?
I don’t want to speak for anyone, but I would not expect that to be acceptable to most trans people and I would ideally hope it wouldn’t be acceptable to most cis people, either. (I get how it seems like making distinctions and classifications in sports just happens in a vacuum, but it’s not. Got laws getting passed allowing for flippin’ genital exams to play youth sports, like. We’re already quickly going too far in the wrong direction!)
Yeah, think there’s no direction to go…should’ve been a DNS for the whole heat of humanity.
And it’s pointless and kinda getting boring TBH.
say what you want, she deserves to be on this list
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