(Source The BaltimoreTimes):
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southwestern Athletic Conference has named Alabama State’s Ayana Emmanuel its 2022-23 SWAC Woman of the Year.
Last season Emmanuel was the leading scorer in the league in the sport of Women’s Basketball during conference play averaging 16.9 points per game in league action. Her stellar play helped propel Alabama State to a 12-6 mark in conference play.
For her efforts, she was named the 2022-23 SWAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year while also earning All-SWAC First Team honors.
“Being a student-athlete at Alabama State University has given me the opportunity to network and build relationships that will last for a lifetime,” said Emmanuel. “I was able to establish a platform for myself, advocate for other student-athletes, and give back to my community.”
student-athletes.
Off the court, Emmanuel was also an exemplary ambassador for the university excelling athletically, academically, and within the local community.
She was selected as a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honors Society (2022 and 2023), the SWAC All-Academic Team, the HBCU Scholar by the White House Initiative NASA Ambassador, along with being named a Dean’s List recipient at Alabama State University during the 2018-19 and 2020-21 academic years
Emmanuel will now be nominated by the Conference Office for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. Award.
A record-breaking 619 female student-athletes were nominated by NCAA member schools – across all Divisions (I, II, III) for consideration for the 2023 Woman of the Year award.
This year’s nominees represent a diverse set of well-rounded student-athletes, with 24 different sports across all three NCAA divisions. 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 — from the conference-level nominees.
The Top 30 honorees will be announced in October. The selection committee will then determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced in November.
From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will choose the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. The honorees will be celebrated at the Woman of the Year Award Ceremony at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix in January.
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Tennis.
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.
