INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Illinois Wesleyan University's Ayana Blair (Wheeling, Ill.-Wheeling) and Kendall Sosa (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) were two of 535 nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award announced by the national office Thursday, July 15. 

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

The nominees competed in 24 sports across all three NCAA divisions, including 251 nominees from Division I, 107 from Division II, and 177 from Division III. Multisport student-athletes account for 141 of the nominees. A full list of nominees is available by clicking here. 

Blair graduated as one of the top throwers in IWU women's track and field history. The Wheeling, Ill. native closed out her career with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and holds three IWU school records. A College Sports Information Directors of America All-District pick, Blair was named all-region, all-america, the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, and IWU's spring recipient of the CCIW's Jack Swartz award.

Sosa put together a sensational career for the IWU women's basketball team. The CCIW Most Outstanding Player of the Year, Sosa set the school's single-game points record with 47 in a win over Millikin. A unanimous First Team All-CCIW honoree, Sosa was named to the D3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America First Teams. She was voted the WBCA Division III Player of the Year, and was one of six finalists for the Honda Division III Athlete of the Year. Academically, Sosa was named CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America, CoSIDA Academic All-District, and IWU's winter recipient of the CCIW Jack Swartz award.

Next, conferences 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 10 women from each division to make up the Top 30.

The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced this fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year later this fall.