Troy, NY--- The Sage Colleges graduate student and all-star short stop Kellie Jones (Troy, NY/Troy) and volleyball team all-star was selected as the Skyline Conference nominee for the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The NCAA has announced a record 452 college and university nominees for the 20th annual NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The award honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Every NCAA member institution was encouraged to honor its top graduating female student-athlete. If at least one of the nominees was a woman of color or international student-athlete, schools were urged to submit two nominations to their respective conference offices. Nominees represent all three divisions.
Each conference will assess each nominee’s eligibility and select a conference nominee based on collective achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics. All conference nominees will be forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which will choose the top 10 honorees in each division.
From among those 30 candidates, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, members of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year.
To be eligible for the award, female student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2010 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2010 term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5.
The top 10 honorees per division will be announced in August, followed by the top three honorees by division in September. The top 30 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be honored and the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis on October 17
In May, Jones was named to the 2010 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III All-Region Team for her outstanding play this past season on the diamond. Jones was named to the 2010 Atlantic Region Third Team at short stop. The honor was a repeat selection for the Gator, who was tapped for the 2009 Atlantic Region Honorable Mention Team last season.
Among the many honors Jones has earned this past year, she was named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Third Team for her accomplishments both on the diamond and in the classroom as well as the 2010 Skyline Conference All-Star Softball Second Team.
An accomplished two-sport student-athlete, she wrapped her stellar career having been named Sage’s 2009-2010 Athlete of the Year at the annual Athletic Award Banquet. Jones not only played women’s volleyball and softball, but excelled during her career in both sports. She leaves her name in the record books in both sports and served as a team captain for both teams as well. She graduated with a 3.6 grade-point-average as a member of the accelerated physical therapy program at Sage and is currently working on her graduate degree. Her leadership skills and athletic ability are unmatched and was named the recipient of the Sage Athlete of the Year for her dynamic ability on and off the playing field. Twice over the course of the 2010 season, she was named to the Skyline Conference Softball Weekly honor roll for her play.
In softball, she was named the 2010 Gator of the Year as the team’s Most Valuable Player after her dynamic play helped the program this season. She was a dominant force in the league this season as she batted .426 to rank sixth in the Skyline Conference this year. She closed her stellar career with numerous single-game and career marks. Among the many highlights the three-time team captain set were most doubles in a season (14) and career (36), and most home runs in a season (6). She finished her career with a .380 average (11th best), after playing in 125 games (3rd) with 376 at bats (2nd), with 143 hits (2nd), 36 doubles (1st), 8 triples (5th), 13 home runs (2nd), with 87 runs scored (2nd), 56 RBIs (7th)and 23 stolen bases (5th). For the 2010 season, Jones batted a team-high .426 with 12 doubles, 2 triples and a team-best 6 home runs, while driving in 17 runs and scoring 24 runs and ranked among the top five offensively in the conference in sixth different categories.
The selection of Jones by the Skyline Conference as the NCAA Woman of the Year nominee marks the second straight year Sage has produced the league’s candidate after women’s volleyball player, Kaitlin Olmstead (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) was chosen as the league’s 2009 nominee.
