Madi Hess Selected the ASC Nominee for 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year
7/23/2015 12:57:37 PM
NCAA Release
RICHARDSON, Texas –– University of Texas at Dallas basketball student-athlete Madison "Madi" Hess has been selected by the American Southwest Conference as its nominee for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year award following vote of the ASC Senior Woman Administrators.
Hess (Austin, Texas/Cedar Park HS) joins Division I, II and III conference nominees on the Woman of the Year ballot. In its 25th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) manages the nomination and selection process.
A total of 147 women earned nomination from their conferences for the 2015 award. Hess is one of 51 Division III conference nominees and one of 31 nominees from across the Association who competed in basketball. The collective grade-point average of this year's conference nominees is an impressive 3.72 with each nominee exhibiting success in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
Captain for the 2014-15 UT Dallas basketball team, Hess led the Comets to the 2015 American Southwest Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. Named Most Valuable Player of the 2015 conference tournament and an All-ASC First Team pick, Hess directed UT Dallas to first and second-round national tournament wins and a trip to the Division III Sectionals. Hess was named an All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and All-South Region by d3hoops.com. She led the ASC in three-point field goal percentage (.459) and assists per game (5.1) during the 2014-15 season, ranking among the top 25 in each Division III statistical category. The point guard set three UT Dallas season records during 2014-15 – assists, assists per game and three-point field goal percentage.
A May 2015 graduate, Hess earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in emerging media and communications and was recipient of the ASC Scholar-Athlete Medal of Honor recognizing her as the top UT Dallas graduating female student-athlete. Hess was selected as the ASC Women's Basketball Distinguished Scholar for 2014-15, and claimed both ASC Academic All-Conference and CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District recognition. Hess completed internships with CBS Radio and Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine during her collegiate career.
When not on the basketball court or in the classroom, Hess served on the UT Dallas Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for three years and was involved with several community service organizations and events, including Special Olympics Dallas, Minnie's Food Pantry, Cedar Ridge Assisted Living and Dallas Habitat for Humanity.
"I am thankful for having the opportunity to be a student-athlete because it truly has taught me how to be successful in different areas of my life and helped build me to be the person I am today," Hess said. "I will always be able to look back on the amazing experiences I had during my collegiate years."
Hess is the first UT Dallas student-athlete selected as the ASC nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year and the second basketball player selected to represent the Conference on the national award ballot.
The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee will choose the top 10 honorees in each of the three divisions from the conference nominations, narrowing to the top three in each division. The members of the CWA will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be introduced at the awards dinner in Indianapolis on October 18.
All-Time ASC Nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year
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2015 |
Madison Hess, University of Texas at Dallas (Basketball) |
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2014 |
Lauren Robenalt, University of Texas at Tyler (Softball) |
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2013 |
Lya Swaner, East Texas Baptist University (Softball) |
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2012 |
Ashton Brey, East Texas Baptist University (Softball) |
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2011 |
Amy Kuykendall, Hardin-Simmons University (Soccer) |
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2010 |
Kaela Parnell, Hardin-Simmons University (Volleyball) |
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2009 |
Ashley Huston, Hardin-Simmons University (Track and Field) |
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2008 |
Michelle Heckmann, Concordia University Texas (Volleyball) |
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Tarra Richardson, McMurry University (Basketball) |
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2007 |
Virginia Aguilar, Hardin-Simmons University (Volleyball) |
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2006 |
April Johnson, Hardin-Simmons University (Soccer) |
#NCAAWOTY
NCAA News and UT Dallas Sports Information contributed to this report.