Tacoya Allen Selected as Nominee for 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award

Indianapolis, Ind. - Centenary senior Tacoya Allen, a member of both the women's basketball team and the track and field team, has been selected as a nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award. 

Allen (Killeen, Texas) played two seasons for the Ladies after transferring from Texas A&M International as she saw action in 34 games and made 16 starts. She averaged 18.4 minutes per game and scored a career-high eight points on Senior Day, a 70-69 overtime win over St. Thomas on Feb. 27. Allen also was a member of the Ladies' track and field squad this past spring and is a Biology major. 

"I'm incredibly proud of Tacoya and cannot think of anyone more deserving of this nomination," said Centenary women's head basketball coach Jason Schmitz. "She came in as a transfer and was a program changer when it comes to our culture."

"She embraced our family mentality and helped grow it," said Schmitz. "She is an amazing young woman who is planning on serving our country very soon. I am excited to see what she does in the future and am proud to have have had the opportunity to coach her." 

For 31 years, the program has honored the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college athletes. Rooted in Title IX and directed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three NCAA divisions. Over 220,000 women are competing in college sports, and the NCAA received 535 nominations for this prestigious award. Allen was nominated for her dedication and success in and out of the classroom, and in the local community.
 
Next, conference offices will select their nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year. Each conference nominee will be notified by the NCAA, and all conference-round nominees will be announced on ncaa.org in August. Conference nominations are forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which identifies the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions. From those 30 honorees, the selection committee then determines the three finalists in each division for a total of nine finalists.

The Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. At an award ceremony Oct. 17 in Indianapolis, the Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named.

You can learn more about the award program, next steps and previous winners by visiting ncaa.org/woty.

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