By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information 

COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—Tennessee Tech women's basketball assistant coach Crystal Kelly has been named as the 2016 Most Admired Woman in the category of Athletes/Fitness by Today's Woman Magazine. The Louisville, Ky., native was named amongst 11 other women on June 4. 

"I was surprised to hear that I had won," remarked Kelly. "Being a Louisville native, it's nice to be seen as a role model for some young ladies and not just represent myself, but all of the different schools and people I have played for and worked with."

Kelly had tremendous success during her college and prep school careers and was regarded as one of the top prep athletes to ever come out of Louisville. She led Sacred Heart Academy to three consecutive Sweet 16 titles from 2002 to 2004 and played collegiately at Western Kentucky University. As a four-year Hilltopper, Kelly completed her career as the program's all-time leader in scoring (2,803) and rebounding (1,285). 

Kelly then went on to play in the WNBA as a third round, 31st-overall draft pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Houston Comets. In three seasons in the league, she averaged 4.8 points and 2.4 rebounds while also playing overseas during the offseason. After her time as a professional basketball player, Kelly served for four years as an assistant women's basketball coach at Bellarmine University. In the 2015-16 season, she helped lead the Knights to a 24-4 overall record, tying the best winning percentage (.857) in program history, and a 15-3 finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Kelly also helped guide Bellarmine to an unprecedented GLVC Tournament Championship after the Knights upset No. 10 Drury, 80-77, in the semifinals and then No. 22 Quincy, 89-78, in the finals to claim their first NCAA berth since 2008.

Check out the magazine here.