By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information & NCAA Communications
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - One of the most decorated members of the soccer team in program history, senior Kaitie Shipley was an easy choice as the Golden Eagles' Woman of the Year Award for 2020, constantly serving as a shining example of what Tennessee Tech student-athletes should aspire to.
On Tuesday, Shipley was named one of two nominees from the Ohio Valley Conference for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. From a program-record pool of 605 school nominees, she represents one of just 161 conference-level nominees across all three NCAA divisions. Of those nominated, 59 nominees competed in Division I, 39 in Division II and 63 in Division III.
A starting defender in each of the past two seasons, Shipley never left the soccer pitch, playing every minute while earning All-OVC First Team honors both seasons as a team captain. Named Team MVP in 2018, she followed up her junior campaign with another stellar season, scoring two goals while anchoring a Tech defensive unit that finished in the top-five in the OVC in goals allowed and goals-against average during league play.
As talented as the Barrie, Ontario native was on the pitch, she was even more eye-popping the classroom, accumulating a perfect, 4.0 GPA while staying on track to graduate in May with her degree in exercise science/physical wellness with a concentration in fitness and wellness and a minor in science. She has earned Athletic Director's Honor Roll honors each of her seven semesters, OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll accolades each of her three years and the OVC's Medal of Honor three times.
Last year, Shipley was awarded the OVC Scholar-Athlete Award, the most prestigious individual honor presented by the conference to a student-athlete. She has twice been selected as a member of the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team and was honored with the Exercise Science Department's Horizon Award and Challenger Physical Education Award.
A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, she also served as one of only 15 Tennessee Tech students on the TTU Advisory Council for Education. Additionally, Shipley was a member of the EXPW Majors Club and served as a tutor for Tech Athletics. She accounted for countless hours of volunteer activities in the local community, including assisting with the Next Step Mission, Cookeville Shelter, Cookeville Rescue Mission, and the Putnam County tornado cleanup efforts, just to name a few.
"We are excited and thrilled for Kaitie to receive this fantastic news," Tech head soccer coach Steve Springthorpe expressed. "It is an honor for her to be selected to represent the OVC. I know that Kaitie is thankful for the honor and appreciates all that have had a part in making this happen for her.
"Kaitie truly embodies what it means to be a student-athlete at Tennessee Tech. We hope that as the voting process continues, she will have the fortune of moving on and representing Tennessee Tech at the national level."
Shipley represented the seventh member of the Golden Eagle soccer team to be named Tennessee Tech's Woman of the Year, and the fourth in the past six years, joining the likes of Lauren Brewer (2018), Taylor Blazei (2016) and Katie Phillips (2015).
The NCAA Woman of the Year program is rooted in Title IX and has recognized graduating female college athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership since its inception in 1991.
Conferences can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete. The OVC also nominated Eastern Kentucky soccer's Larissa Heslop.
All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, were placed in a separate pool to be considered by a selection committee. Four nominees from the pool were selected to move forward in the process with the conference nominees.
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in September. From there, the selection committee will narrow the pool to three finalists from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2020 Woman of the Year from the nine finalists.
The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named this fall. For more details on the NCAA Woman of the Year program, click here.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
