BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southwestern Athletic Conference has named Alabama State University’s Ayana Emmanuel its 2022-23 SWAC Woman of the Year.
“This is a tremendous honor for Ayana,” Athletic Director Dr. Jason Cable said. “She has represented Alabama State University and our women’s basketball program in a tremendous way on and off the court during her career!”
Emmanuel led the SWAC in scoring (16.8) and averaged 4.5 rebounds per game. Last year’s first team HBCU All-American scored exactly 2,000 points in her career. She scored in double figures 23 times this season with three double-doubles and was named the SWAC’s Impact Player of the Wee four times. Emmanuel ranked second in the SWAC in free throw percentage (82.7), and field goal attempts (418) and led the league points (505), points per game (16.8), free throw attempts (197 ) and free throws made (163).
For her efforts she was named the 2022-23 SWAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, HBCU BOXTOROW National Co-Player of the year while also earning All-SWAC First Team and First-Team HBCU All-American 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.”
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 of 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.
Article submitted by Alabama State University Athletics.
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