Jackson State University standouts Hannah White of track and field and Ameshya Williams-Holliday of women’s basketball are nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.
White earned a 3.5 GPA in the classroom and was a dominant field performer for JSU Track, as White was the 2022 SWAC Indoor and Outdoor Champion in the shot put, won the SWAC Outdoor Championship in the discus, finished second in SWAC Indoors in the weight throw, and finished fourth in SWAC Outdoors in the hammer throw. White was named the Outstanding Field Performer at the SWAC Outdoor Championship and was an NCAA Outdoor Regional qualifier in both the shot put and discus.
This past season, Williams-Holliday also earned a 3.5 GPA in the classroom while leading Jackson State to its third straight SWAC Regular Season Championship and second straight SWAC Tournament Championship. Williams-Holliday was a three-time first-team All-SWAC selection (2020, 2021, 2022), a three-time league Defensive Player of the Year (2020, 2021, 2022), and in 2022 became the first SWAC player since 2019 to win both SWAC Player Of The Year and Defensive Player Of The Year honors in the same season.
Williams-Holliday, who led the conference in scoring (19.2 ppg), rebounds (11.4 rpg), field goal percentage (57.7%), and blocks (2.7 bpg), became the first HBCU player drafted since 2002 and only the sixth all-time to be selected in the WNBA Draft (25th overall to Indiana).
This year’s nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 248 from Division I, 127 from Division II and 202 from Division III. Of the 577 nominations, 23 sports are represented, with 125 student-athletes competing in multiple sports.