Former Hilltopper standout Kelsey Yeatts named NCAA Woman of the Year Finalist
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Former women's soccer standout Kelsey Yeatts was selected as a national semifinalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Overall, 30 national semifinalists were named with 10 coming from each division of the NCAA from a pool of 132 conference nominees from the 1,000-plus schools with NCAA membership. Yeatts was one of 10 semifinalists selected from the NCAA Division II ranks and the nominee of the Heartland Conference.
The NCAA Website describes the award as follows: "The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senor student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership."
The national semifinalists gathered this past weekend in Indianapolis, the city of the NCAA Headquarters, for the NCAA Woman of the Year awards dinner on Oct. 18th. Lacey Nymeyer, a swimmer from the University of Arizona was named this year's NCAA Woman of the Year.
Yeatts closed out her four-year career with the St. Edward's women's soccer team in 2008. During her stint, she helped lead the Hilltoppers to Heartland Conference titles in 2006 and 2007. St. Edward's also made their first two appearances in the NCAA Tournament both of those seasons, advancing to the second round in each. The Hilltoppers compiled a 53-21-5 record while Yeatts was on the hilltop. Individually, Yeatts was honored as a three-time first-team all-Heartland Conference selection, a three-time all-region selection and capped it off with an honorable mention all-america selection her senior season.
Away from the soccer pitch, Yeatts' academic success was also outstanding. She was named to the Dean's List every semester she attended St. Edward's and received the Dean's Scholarship every year as well. Her senior season she was also selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
Here presence in the community has also been felt, as she has been involved in numerous community service events. Yeatts went on mission trips to Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Nicarauga, and the Phillipenes. She also volunteered as a tutor at Copperfield Elementary, raised money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and was a volunteer coach at Veritas Academy. Yeatts also was a member of the St. Edward's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Co-President of SEU's Fellowship of Christian Athletes.