Port Jeff high school alumna makes her mark in the NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has narrowed down its pool of nominees for its 2022 Woman of the Year award, and recent Adelphi field hockey graduate Jackie Brown has earned her spot in the Top 30, announced Thursday afternoon.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX. It recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Brown was a 2021 first-team National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American, following second-team recognition in 2019. A three-time Northeast-10 All-Conference selection, Brown earned first-team honors in 2021, 2019 and 2018. She was a member of the 2021 runner-up team for the NE10 Championship, leading her team to a 2021 NCAA tournament appearance the same year.
“It is an honor to be considered for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award,” said Brown. “All of the 577 female student-athletes who were nominated have made such an impact on the world through their athletics and academic achievements and giving back to their communities.”
The Port Jefferson native received CoSIDA Academic All-American At-Large third-team honors in 2022. She was named a 2021 NFHCA Division II Scholar of Distinction, recognizing those with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.9 through the first semester of the academic year.
The two-year team captain served as president of her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for two years and as co-chair of the NE10 SAAC. Through her campus SAAC, Brown coordinated a Make-A-Wish dodgeball tournament in 2022 and led a Workout for Wishes campaign in 2021, which raised over $13,500 for Make-A-Wish. She also received the Panther Leadership Award in 2020 and 2021 and was a finalist for the 2021 Adelphi President’s Student Leadership Award.
“I am extremely grateful for my family and my Adelphi family for helping shape me into the woman I am today,” she said. “All of my experiences and relationships with so many great individuals would not have been possible without their endless support and guidance throughout my journey.”
Selected from 577 school nominees — a group that was then narrowed to 156 nominees at the conference level — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees represent 14 sports and include nine multisport student-athletes. They have a variety of majors, including biological and biomedical engineering, psychology, business, digital communications, education, nursing, law and policy, and robotics. The average grade point average of the top-30 group is 3.92.
“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we recognize the impact of women on college sports and are honored to select 30 incredible student-athletes who have played instrumental roles on their campus, in their community and on their teams,” said Renie Shields, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Saint Joseph’s. “This accomplished and diverse group of women represent the millions of student-athletes who have participated in the strong history of women’s sports.”
The selection committee will select three honorees from each NCAA division for nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will choose the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year from those finalists.
For the first time in the award’s 32-year history, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named and the Top 30 will be celebrated at the NCAA Convention. The event will take place in January in San Antonio.
