Taylor named Top-30 honoree for NCAA Woman of the Year
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson College women's basketball senior Jenna Taylor has been selected as a top-30 honoree for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Taylor is one of 10 selected from the NCAA Division III ranks after reaching this stage. In total, 535 student-athletes were nominated from all three divisions. The honorees have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The student-athletes represent 12 sports and an array of academic majors, including biology, psychology, mechanical engineering, education, software engineering and anthropology.
"We are thrilled to recognize the 30 honorees selected this year," said John Kietzmann, chair of the selection committee and associate director of athletics for marketing at Metropolitan State University of Denver. "These women excelled in the classroom and competition, while still prioritizing serving their peers and communities despite the challenges they faced during the pandemic. They represent the thousands of women competing in college sports each year, and we congratulate them for their incredible achievements."
The Creston, Iowa native graduated with a degree in accounting and economics: finance with a 4.0 grade-point average. Taylor's academic excellence was showcased over her career by earning the College Sports Information Directors of America Division III Academic All-America of the Year honor for women's basketball this past season and she was a CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team selection in 2018-19, the first in program history to earn two Academic All-America awards.
On the court, the forward was second in the American Rivers Conference in scoring at 20.1 points per outing to earn MVP honors in 2020-21 after guiding the Storm to a 12-0 record and the program's 13th conference title. Taylor received recognition from the national level once more, this time landing on the D3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches' Association All-America First Teams. The seven-time league player of the week has been named all-conference twice and all-conference honorable mention twice.
The 2021 Barborka Award Winner has been a member of several organizations on and off campus. Taylor was a community advisor for residence life, a peer academic leader, an academic mentor for women's basketball, a Meals from the Heartland volunteer, participated in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was part of the mental health organization for student-athletes on campus, Storm Speaks.
The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced this fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year.
On Tuesday, Nov. 9, during a virtual awards ceremony, the Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named.
