Official NCAA Release

INDIANAPOLIS – Accomplished Cedarville volleyball student-athlete Abby Shelton was one of 145 females nominated by conferences and an independent selection committee for consideration for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
 
Shelton, a graduated outside hitter from Sparta, Ga., was most recently named the Great Midwest Female Collegiate Achievement Award winner back in May as part of the league’s annual spring banquet.
 
Shelton also helped the Yellow Jackets to the AVCA Team Academic Award and graduated with a major in sports business management with a minor in Bible and marketing.
 
Shelton was a two-time first team all-conference selection during her career and received co-Great Midwest Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2015. She currently ranks third all-time in conference history in career kills (1,342) and is third in service aces (149).
 
Shelton also received regional recognition as D2CCA Midwest Region Second-Team pick and was the AVCA National Player of the Week in the fall.
 
She helped the Yellow Jackets to a dominant 40-5 league record with three conference titles in four seasons.
 
Off the court, Shelton has donated her time in the local community at the Springfield jail and has also been on staff at FCA Volleyball while also serving on the Cedarville Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
The nominees represent college athletes from 16 different sports spanning all three NCAA divisions. Of those recognized, 58 nominees competed in Division I, 34 in Division II and 53 in Division III.
 
For the first time, nominees competing in a sport not sponsored by their school’s core conference were placed in a separate pool to be considered by a selection committee. Up to two independent nominees could be selected to move forward in the process with the conference nominees.
 
In early September, the Woman of the Year selection committee will name the Top 30 honorees, which include 10 women from each division. At the end of September, the selection committee will select and announce nine finalists, with three from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those finalists. 
 
The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual banquet Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year program has recognized graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership since its inception in 1991.