NCAA Release
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois softball's Nicole Evans has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the organization announced on Tuesday (June 27).
Established in 1991 and now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Evans is one of a record 543 nominees, including 229 from Division I, 117 from Division II and 197 from Division III. The nominees competed in 21 different women's sports, and 122 were multisport athletes during their time in college.
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.
Next, conferences will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
The Glen Ellyn, Ill., native finished her career as one of the most decorated Illini softball players in program history with a number of accolades to her name, including earning NFCA Third-Team All-America and CoSIDA Academic All-America First-Team honors, as well as being named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar Athlete of the Year by the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine, earning the esteemed Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor award and being selected as the Illinois Athletics Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year.
An NFCA All-District First-Team honoree, Evans also collected First-Team All-Big Ten and All-Defensive Team honors, while also earning CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team accolades earlier this season.
Evans wrapped her senior season by leading the Orange and Blue in batting average (.349), slugging percentage (.775), on-base percentage (.471), RBIs (58), home runs (18), total bases (131) and walks (33) this season, while also ranking in a tie for second in doubles (14) and triples (2) and was third in hits (59), runs (40) and hit-by-pitches (7). Defensively, she owned a .979 fielding percentage with 93 putouts and only two errors on the season.
Evans also left Illinois as the career record holder in several categories, including slugging percentage (.675), home runs (53), RBI (176) and total bases (419), while also ranking second in doubles (50) and intentional walks (8).
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