Indianapolis, IN – Recently graduated
Sierra Clark of the Wagner College women's basketball team was on hand at the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Awards Dinner, held in Indianapolis, IN on Sunday night, as she was one of nine finalists among the Top 30 who were selected from a pool of 154 conference honorees.
University of Georgia's Keturah Orji was selected as the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine former collegiate student-athletes selected as finalist. The Woman of the Year Award, created in 1991, recognizes graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in athletics, academics, leadership and community service.
The Top 30 national honorees and nine finalists — determined by the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee — were selected from a pool of 154 conference honorees. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, composed of representatives from NCAA schools and conferences, selected Orji as the Woman of the Year.
To be eligible for the award, a female student-athlete must have completed eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2018 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2018 term and achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5. Last year's NCAA Woman of the Year was Lizzy Crist, a former soccer student-athlete at Washington U. in St. Louis.
2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30
| Last |
First |
School |
Conference |
Division |
Sport(s) |
| Ayoola |
Adeoluwa |
University of Chicago |
University Athletic Association |
III |
Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Berger |
Sarah |
Walsh University |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
II |
Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer |
| Bonner |
Jada |
Regis University (Colorado) |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
II |
Lacrosse |
| Boswell Usevitch |
Amy |
Brigham Young University |
West Coast Conference |
I |
Volleyball |
| Branham |
Whitney |
California State University, Chico |
California Collegiate Athletic Association |
II |
Basketball |
| CLARK |
SIERRA |
WAGNER COLLEGE |
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE |
I |
BASKETBALL |
| Enright |
Amy |
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse |
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
III |
Gymnastics |
| Fairweather |
Trisana |
Claflin University |
Southern Intercol. Ath. Conf. |
II |
Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Freire |
Vanessa |
Florida State University |
Coastal Collegiate Sports Association |
I |
Beach Volleyball |
| Glueck |
Amelia |
Illinois Wesleyan University |
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin |
III |
Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Griffith |
Kayla |
Lake Forest College |
Women's Northern Collegiate Hockey Association |
III |
Ice Hockey |
| Hackett |
Lauren |
California Baptist University |
Pacific West Conference |
II |
Volleyball |
| Halverson |
Annika |
Bethel University (Minnesota) |
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
III |
Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Hiegert |
Delaney |
Newman University |
Heartland Conference |
II |
Softball |
| Johnson |
Lily |
Missouri State University |
Missouri Valley Conference |
I |
Volleyball |
| Leland |
Kayla |
Whitworth University |
Northwest Conference |
III |
Basketball, Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Leung |
Jing |
Harvard University |
The Ivy League |
I |
Swimming & Diving |
| Littlefield |
Kirsten |
University of Mary Washington |
Capital Athletic Conference |
III |
Lacrosse |
| Lloyd |
Whitney |
University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) |
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
III |
Volleyball |
| MacLean |
Heather |
University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
Atlantic 10 Conference |
I |
Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Norton |
Kami |
Angelo State University |
Lone Star Conference |
II |
Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Nurse |
Kia |
University of Connecticut |
American Athletic Conference |
I |
Basketball |
| Orji |
Keturah |
University of Georgia |
Southeastern Conference |
I |
Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Peters |
Sidney |
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities |
Western Collegiate Hockey Association |
I |
Ice Hockey |
| Poon |
Jade |
California State University, Stanislaus |
California Collegiate Athletic Association |
II |
Soccer |
| Proano |
Sophia |
Colorado Christian University |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
II |
Volleyball |
| Salamon |
Haylea |
Lenoir-Rhyne University |
South Atlantic Conference |
II |
Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field |
| Shippy |
Vanessa |
Oklahoma State University |
Big 12 Conference |
I |
Softball |
| Wilhelm |
Amelia |
Bates College |
New England Small College Athletic Conference |
III |
Rowing |
| Wilson |
Julia |
Kenyon College |
North Coast Athletic Conference |
III |
Swimming & Diving |
Clark, who recently signed a professional contact with Arxil Pontevedra of the European Basketball League, becomes the first Wagner student-athlete to ever be included among the Top 30 nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
After graduating from Adelphi in 2017 with a 3.65 grade point average, transferred to Wagner where she was reunited with Wagner head coach
Heather Jacobs, who had previously recruited and coached Clark at Adelphi.
"I know I speak for everyone at Wagner College, and within our athletic department, in congratulating and saluting Sierra on being named among the Top 30 honorees for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award," said Wagner Athletic Director
Walt Hameline. "In her one year here, she was just a remarkable student-athlete who leaves a lasting legacy of excellence for future Seahawks to strive for."
Based on her combined accomplishments in the classroom and on the floor,
the Hughesville, MD native became the first Seahawk women's basketball player to win 2017-18 Northeast Conference (NEC) Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, in addition to earning a spot on the prestigious 2017-18 CoSIDA Academic All-District I First Team
On the floor, in addition to earning First-Team All-NEC honors, Clark was named to the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Second Team after raking ranked second in the NEC at 18.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Clark also recorded an NEC-best 16 double-doubles on the season and led the NEC with 68 blocked shots, a mark that ranks second on the Seahawk all-time single-season list. Against LIU Brooklyn (1/13), Clark poured in 34 points, which was her Wagner high and two shy of her collegiate career high of 36, set back at Adelphi against Saint Michael's (1/9/16), where she earned Division II All-American honors at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season.
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Wagner Athletics
Women's Basketball:
Head Coach
Heather Jacobs:
