CLINTON, Miss. --- Mississippi College women's soccer standout Katie Taylor has been nominated for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, it was announced on Tuesday (July 14).

Taylor (Tupelo, Miss.) is one of 605 female student-athletes nominated, a new program record, across all three divisions, including 259 from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. There were also three other nominees from the Gulf South Conference: Abby Bertram (Lee), Taylor Gonzales (Montevallo) and Logan Hill (Valdosta State).

Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

Member schools are encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year Award. Schools can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete.

Conference offices will select up to two nominees each from their pool of member school nominees. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be considered by a selection committee. Then, 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 Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.

Taylor was recognized with the GSC Commissioner's Trophy, which recognizes the top male and female student-athletes from across the league. She also took home All-American and Academic All-American honors to go along with being the D2CCA South Region Player of the Year and GSC Offensive Player of the Year.

She helped lead the Lady Choctaws to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019, setting a school record with 15 straight wins, including going a perfect 12-0 in league play. Taylor led the team with 13 goals and eight assists, while earning a 3.80 grade-point-average in Interdisciplinary Studies.
 

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Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and began competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.

The athletic department sponsors 18 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.

For more information on Mississippi College athletics, please contact David Nichols at 601-925-3234 or nichols@mc.edu.