INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Lees-McRae College's
Destiny Johnson, a member of the women's basketball program under head coach
Keith Jennings, has been selected to serve as one of the two student-athletes chosen to be Conference Carolinas' official nominees for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Johnson joins Jami Tham of Barton as the league's official nominees.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which was established in 1991, honors the academic achievements, athletic excellence, community service, and leadership of graduating female student-athletes. The duo are part of the 577 nominees from across all of the NCAA in the 32nd year of the Woman of the Year award program. NCAA Division II has 127 nominees, including Johnson and Tham, with the average grade-point average of those nominated is 3.8. Learn more about the NCAA Woman of the Year program by clicking HERE.
In addition to boasting an impressive 4.00 GPA as an Elementary Education major, Johnson became the 15th player in Lees-McRae women's basketball program history to reach 1,000-career points and finished her career as a two-time All-Conference Carolinas performer to help the Bobcats reach the league's postseason tournament in three of her four years in Banner Elk.
Her accolades on the court translated off the court as Johnson received the Fred I. Dickerson Award, which is given to the female student-athlete with the highest GPA, the Sullivan Award, given to a graduating senior whose "nobility of character" and service to others set them apart as examples for all, the Lees-McRae Teacher Education Award, and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2021.
Johnson has also been a strong representative for Lees-McRae and the Conference Carolinas in the community as she has volunteered her time with various organizations in the High Country. Her work with Feeding Avery Families, Food Lion, and as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Lees-McRae has left a mark on the campus community.
To be eligible for the NCAA Woman of the Year, a student-athlete must have complete and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have earned her undergraduate degree by Summer 2022. The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee will next identify the Top-30, 10 student-athlete from each division, and from there selects three finalists from each division. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then selects the NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named later this Fall.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
