NCAA Announces Conference Woman of the Year Nominees
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The NCAA announced the Woman of the Year nominees for each conference this week and Conference Carolinas representatives are Julie Gast of Lees-McRae and Amanda Hamrin of UNC Pembroke.
To be eligible for the award, nominees must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport, have earned her undergraduate degree no later than the summer 2023 term and have a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade-point average of 2.50 on a 4.0 score.
In 2023, a record-breaking 619 female student-athletes were nominated by NCAA member schools and the nominees represented 24 different sports with 264 nominees in Division I, 128 in Division II and 227 nominees in Division III with an average GPA of 3.76.
A softball student-athlete for the Bobcats, Gast graduated with a 3.84 GPA as a pre-physical therapy major with a minor in athletic coaching. The Taylorsville, North Carolina native was the 2023 Conference Carolinas softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a Murphy Osborne Award Finalist and a Herff Jones Female Athlete of the Year nominee. She is also a two-time Conference Carolinas All-Tournament team selection, helped Lees-McRae to the tournament title in 2019 and earned All-Defensive honors at shortstop in 2023. In addition to her prowess in the classroom and on the field, Gast also volunteered in numerous capacities including being involved in SAAC, Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT), Habitat for Humanity, Beech Humanity Trunk or Treat and a peer ally mental health ambassador. She finishes her career as a .314 hitter with 124 runs and 104 RBIs with 46 doubles and 12 home runs.
The 2023 Conference Carolinas individual medalist, a two-time All-Conference Carolinas All-Tournament and All-Conference Carolinas selection, Hamrin graduated with a 4.0 GPA in business administration with a concentration in management and a masters in business administration. A native of Vasteras, Sweden, Hamrin was the 2023 Conference Carolinas women’s golf Elite 23 honoree and a three-time Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar. She also spent time volunteering in various ways including as the President of SAAC, Tri-Warriors, UNCP Move-In volunteer, a Make-A-Wish volunteer and as a teacher assistant at Braves Buddies.
In October the NCAA will announce the top 30 honorees. The nine finalists will be announced in November with the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year being celebrated at an awards ceremony at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix in January.