AUGUSTA, GA -- Five Peach Belt Conference student-athletes have been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Augusta's Alexis Diaz-Infante, North Georgia's Hannah Forehand, Lander's Hannah Stephenson, USC Aiken's Kari Mercer, Georgia College & State University's Kate Richardson and Embry-Riddle's Ukeyvia Beckwith are among the record 619 nominated in 2023.
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.
A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Alexis Diaz-Infante was named a first-team All-Conference selection on the Augusta volleyball team in 2022. A two-time All-Conference selection and All-Region selection, she led the PBC in hitting percentage last season and was ninth in kills and sixth in blocks. Named to the PBC Team of Academic Distinction and a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar, she graduated with a degree in English and World Language Communication and a 3.87 GPA. She also served as the managing editor for the Sand Hills Literary Magazine and as a consultant in the AU Writing Center.
Hannah Forehand played in 70 of North Georgia's 71 softball games in 2023, including every game of the postseason which culminated in the NCAA National Championship. From Kennesaw, Ga., Forehand hit .352 this year with a team-leading 18 home runs and led NCAA Division II with 81 RBIs. She graduated with a degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science and a 3.79 GPA. She served as the secretary for the UNG Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for two years and as a mentor for incoming student-athletes.
Lander women's golfer Hannah Stephenson won her second straight PBC Elite 16 Award in leading the Bearcats to the PBC Championship in 2023. A native of Lexington, S.C., she graduated with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management and Marketing and will complete her MBA this July with a 3.97 GPA. A 2021 and 2023 WGCA All-America Scholar and 2022 All-American, she graduated Summa Cum Laude and served on the Lander SAAC for five years.
Kari Mercer graduated from USC Aiken with a degree in business administration and a minor in sociology, but will return for the 2023 volleyball season for her remaining year of eligibility as she pursues an MBA. From Hilliard, Ohio, Mercer was named a CSC Academic All-American last year to go with her PBC All-Conference selection. A two-time PBC Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year, she is currently seventh in PBC all-time career digs (modern era) after leading the conference in total digs last season.
Georgia College & State University goalkeeper Kate Richardson graduated as valedictorian of her class in 2023. With a degree in marketing with a concentration in logistics, the 4.00 student from Marietta, Ga., was a second-team All-Conference selection after starting every game for the Bobcats last season. She finishes her career ranking third in career saves, shutouts, minutes, and wins, fourth in goals-against average and seventh in career save percentage. She earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, and was named J. Whitney Bunting Marketing Student and Business Student of the Year.
Beckwith became only the second PBC track athlete ever to win a national championship as she claimed the crown in the 800 at the NCAAs in May. A graduate student from Orlando, Fla., she completed her undegraduate degree in Aerospace and Occupational Safety with a 3.34 GPA and then received her master's in business administation with a 3.70 GPA. A PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar, she was also named to the PBC Team of Academic Distinction, a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete and a CSC Academic All-American. On the track, she set the PBC record in the 800 at 2:04.59 this spring, won the PBC Championship in the high jump twice and was the 2022 PBC Track Athlete of the Year.
Of the five core member nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year, one will be selected by the Peach Belt Conference senior woman administrators to be the league's representative and move forward in the process. The PBC's selection will be announced in the coming weeks. Beckwith, as a nominee from an associate member, will have her candidacy evaluated by an independent NCAA committee and may also move forward into the conference round.
All conference-level nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will choose the top 10 honorees in each division. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the three finalists in each division. Finally, the members of the Committee on Women’s Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year.
Later this fall, the national Top 30 honorees and nine finalists will be announced. The 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix.