The University of Mississippi Athletics
Simmons, Stroup Named Ole Miss Nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year
7/14/2020 | Track and Field, Volleyball, Student-Athlete Development, Athletics
Rebel Duo Two of Record 605 Total NCAA Nominees for 2020
INDIANAPOLIS – Ole Miss seniors Kaira Simmons (track & field) and Emily Stroup (volleyball) have been named as nominees for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The duo are part of a record 605 female college athletes nominated in 2020. Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. The nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 259 nominees from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Nominees competed in 24 sports, with multisport student-athletes accounting for 128 of the nominees.
Simmons, who completed her bachelor's in criminal justice in just two years, recently completed her master's in criminal justice this spring. Simmons was named Ole Miss' 2019-20 Outstanding Graduate Student for Legal Studies, and she ultimately wants to work in national intelligence and security. Simmons has received hands-on law enforcement experience from an internship with the University Police Department in 2018.
Academically, Simmons has excelled, earning national awards like USTFCCCA All-Academic and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar distinction, while also being named to the AD's Honor Roll, the Chancellor's Honor Roll, the SEC Honor Roll and the Dean's Honor Roll numerous times. Simmons also served as an executive board member on the Ole Miss Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
In addition to her success in the classroom, Simmons stands as one of the best long jumpers in Ole Miss history. Her career-best leap indoors of 6.27m (20-07.00) stands third all-time and was the best by a Rebel since Olympian Brittney Reese set the school record 6.87m (22-06.50) in 2008. Her junior season in 2019 was a special one, as she joined the historic Rebel women's 4x100-meter relay that broke the school record several times – including the current record 43.45 at the NCAA East Regional that punched a ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. At the national meet, Ole Miss finished 12th overall, earning Simmons and her teammates Second-Team All-American status.
Stroup – a communication disorders major and psychology minor hailing from Fargo, North Dakota – was a national Senior CLASS semifinalist this year after concluding her undergraduate studies ranked within the top five percent of her class. She has been named to the SEC and Chancellor's Honor Rolls thrice in her career, and was also the Ole Miss representative on the SEC Volleyball Community Service Team for 2018. Stroup is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and she also serves as an officer for the Hand Band, an on-campus choir group that performs and entertains in sign language. She has been accepted to continue her graduate studies at the University of Minnesota this fall.
Stroup wrapped up a legendary career for the Rebels last fall, ending as the career leader in kills with 1,553 total. She started all 97 matches in each of her last three seasons with the Rebels, and as a six-rotation player, did not exit the court once in her final two years. The three-time AVCA All-Region member ranked second in the NCAA in kills during a superb 2018 season that saw her earn All-SEC honors after breaking the Ole Miss single-match kills record three separate times. Stroup finished her career ranked in the top-five of 17 different categories in the Ole Miss record book, and fell just 21 digs shy of becoming the third Rebel in the modern rally scoring era to join the 1,000/1,000 club.
Member schools are encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year Award. Schools can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete.
Conference offices will select up to two nominees each from their pool of member school nominees. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be considered by a selection committee. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
FedEx Student-Athlete Success Center and Ole Miss Student-Athlete Development Mission
The mission of the FedEx Student-Athlete Success Center is to promote academic and personal achievement through quality developmental and need-based programs designed to empower and holistically develop student-athletes for life after collegiate athletics.
The duo are part of a record 605 female college athletes nominated in 2020. Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. The nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 259 nominees from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Nominees competed in 24 sports, with multisport student-athletes accounting for 128 of the nominees.
Simmons, who completed her bachelor's in criminal justice in just two years, recently completed her master's in criminal justice this spring. Simmons was named Ole Miss' 2019-20 Outstanding Graduate Student for Legal Studies, and she ultimately wants to work in national intelligence and security. Simmons has received hands-on law enforcement experience from an internship with the University Police Department in 2018.
Academically, Simmons has excelled, earning national awards like USTFCCCA All-Academic and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar distinction, while also being named to the AD's Honor Roll, the Chancellor's Honor Roll, the SEC Honor Roll and the Dean's Honor Roll numerous times. Simmons also served as an executive board member on the Ole Miss Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
In addition to her success in the classroom, Simmons stands as one of the best long jumpers in Ole Miss history. Her career-best leap indoors of 6.27m (20-07.00) stands third all-time and was the best by a Rebel since Olympian Brittney Reese set the school record 6.87m (22-06.50) in 2008. Her junior season in 2019 was a special one, as she joined the historic Rebel women's 4x100-meter relay that broke the school record several times – including the current record 43.45 at the NCAA East Regional that punched a ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. At the national meet, Ole Miss finished 12th overall, earning Simmons and her teammates Second-Team All-American status.
Stroup – a communication disorders major and psychology minor hailing from Fargo, North Dakota – was a national Senior CLASS semifinalist this year after concluding her undergraduate studies ranked within the top five percent of her class. She has been named to the SEC and Chancellor's Honor Rolls thrice in her career, and was also the Ole Miss representative on the SEC Volleyball Community Service Team for 2018. Stroup is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and she also serves as an officer for the Hand Band, an on-campus choir group that performs and entertains in sign language. She has been accepted to continue her graduate studies at the University of Minnesota this fall.
Stroup wrapped up a legendary career for the Rebels last fall, ending as the career leader in kills with 1,553 total. She started all 97 matches in each of her last three seasons with the Rebels, and as a six-rotation player, did not exit the court once in her final two years. The three-time AVCA All-Region member ranked second in the NCAA in kills during a superb 2018 season that saw her earn All-SEC honors after breaking the Ole Miss single-match kills record three separate times. Stroup finished her career ranked in the top-five of 17 different categories in the Ole Miss record book, and fell just 21 digs shy of becoming the third Rebel in the modern rally scoring era to join the 1,000/1,000 club.
Member schools are encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year Award. Schools can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete.
Conference offices will select up to two nominees each from their pool of member school nominees. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be considered by a selection committee. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
FedEx Student-Athlete Success Center and Ole Miss Student-Athlete Development Mission
The mission of the FedEx Student-Athlete Success Center is to promote academic and personal achievement through quality developmental and need-based programs designed to empower and holistically develop student-athletes for life after collegiate athletics.
Players Mentioned
Jumps
/ Track and Field
OH
/ Volleyball2025 Ole Miss Celebrity Softball Game (Presented by RiverLand)
Thursday, June 05
Will Allen Wins 2025 Funky's Ole Miss Softball Celebrity Home Run Derby
Thursday, June 05
NGWSD '25 Video
Wednesday, February 05
RebTalk (1-23-2025)
Thursday, January 23