By TTU Sports Information & OVC Media Relations
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech soccer forward Chloe Smith and Eastern Illinois softball pitcher Olivia Price have been selected as the nominees from the Ohio Valley Conference for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award for 2022-23.
Smith was named Tennessee Tech's Female Athlete of the Year and Woman of the Year following a senior campaign that will go down as one of the most dominant in program history. The Cincinnati native led the Golden Eagles to their first OVC regular season title since 1998 and an appearance in the OVC Tournament championship match.
She led the league in goals scored, assists, and total points, earning her All-OVC First Team and OVC All-Tournament honors. A team captain, Smith was named to the USC NCAA DI Women's All-South Region Second Team and USC NCAA DI Women's Scholar All-South Region Second Team as well.
In the classroom, Smith was a nine-time member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, a five-time member of the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll, and a three-time recipient of the OVC's Medal of Honor. She earned her bachelor's degree in engineering technology with an impressive 3.91 GPA and is currently pursuing her MBA, sporting a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Price was this year's OVC Female Athlete of the Year after leading EIU to its first softball OVC Tournament Championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance. She was named the OVC Pitcher of the Year and later won OVC Tournament MVP honors.
Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership throughout their college careers. The NCAA Woman of the Year program is an important opportunity to honor and reflect on the impact of women on intercollegiate sports.
Each year, NCAA member schools are encouraged to celebrate their top graduating female student-athletes by nominating them for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Up to two female student-athletes can be recognized from each school if at least one of them is an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color.
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 Presentation at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix in January.
There were 164 conference-level nominees for the 2023 Woman of the Year Award, including 62 at the Division I level. Conferences offices could choose up to two student-athletes from their member school nominations if at least one nominee was an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color.
