NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University dual-sport standout Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) has been recognized as the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Woman of the Year after standout senior campaigns for the women's basketball and track and field programs. The league office made its announcement Monday morning, June 30. 

The CCIW Women's Student-Athlete of the Year award honors senior women's athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Honorees are nominated and voted upon by the CCIW's Senior Women Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives.

Huber becomes the 14th Titan to earn CCIW Woman of the Year distinction following Lexi Onsrud, who reeled in the honor in 2024. The Lombard, Ill. native, who earned First Team All-American honors from both the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches of America, is the first dual-sport athlete to receive the award and since North Park's Esther Miller did so in 2023. Overall, she is the fifth multi-sport student-athlete to garner the distinction.

Closing out a storied career on the hardwood, Huber was recognized as a Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America selection and was named D3hoops.com Third Team All-America. She tied for the team lead with 15.0 points per game alongside a team-leading 7.8 rebounds per contest and finished third on the team with 72 assists and added 37 steals. The Lombard, Ill. native broke the program's career scoring record, a mark that had stood for nearly 30 years, as she finished her career with 1700 points. A First Team All-CCIW selection and nominee for the league's player of the year award, Huber was named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy.

Returning to track for the first time since winning an individual title as a freshman, Huber closed out her collegiate career on a high note. After nabbing All-CCIW honors in the 800m, javelin, and as part of the 4x400 relay, Huber excelled on the national level. She posted a fourth-place finish in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships with the second-highest total in program history (4918). She set personal-bests in every event of the multi and rankings inside the program's top-10 in five events. She is listed third all-time in high jump (1.67m), fifth in the 800m (2:14.11), eighth in shot put (11.73m), and ninth in javelin (38.88m). Huber was also named All-Midwest Region by the USTFCCA and finished the year ranked 20th nationally in high jump.

Graduating with a degree in biology, Huber was voted a College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-America in basketball and earned Academic All-District honors from the organization in both sports. A five-time Academic All-CCIW selection, Huber was tabbed Illinois Wesleyan's Jack Swartz Award recipient in back-to-back seasons. Additionally, Huber is a trained and licensed Emergency Medical Technician, and has held the position of General Biology Lab Preparator for Dr. Libby Haywood. She has also served as an athletic training student assistant, where she helped provide treatment to IWU student-athletes.

Huber's impact has reached far beyond her athletic accomplishments, as she has been one of IWU's most involved student-athletes in recent memory. She has organized, led, and participated in many community service activities including: serving as a youth basketball camp counselor, serving on our Student Athlete Advisory Committee, assuming the role of Director of Student-Athlete Development for SAAC, being a member of the Pre Healthy Club Fellowship of Christian Athlete, while also spending her time as a Night to Shine Volunteer, Trick or Treat Canned Food Drive leader, Timber Lake 5K Set Up Volunteer, fundraising for St. Jude's, participating in the Impact Life Blood Drive, and a leader on the Pink Zone Decorating Committee. She has also volunteered with UNICEF, Salvation Army, Sugar Creek, the Tim Tebow Foundation, Home Sweet Home Ministry, Almost Home Kids, UKANDU, and Feed My Starving Children among others.

She has held leadership positions within our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and in other areas on campus. She was the single student representative from our entire campus chosen to speak at the benefactors dinner earlier this year. She is the Director of Student-Athlete Development for our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), where she works to create leadership development and community service opportunities for our entire student-athlete body. She is also an active member of Beta Beta Beta and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where she has led various initiatives.

Huber's nomination will advance to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee, which is made up of representatives from the NCAA membership. In the fall, the committee chooses the top 30 honorees including 10 from each division. From the top 30, the committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the NCAA Woman of the Year, which will be announced at the NCAA Convention in January.

CCIW Women's Student-Athletes of the Year Winners
2024-25 – Lauren Huber – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Basketball, Women's Track & Field)
2023-24 – Lexi Onsrud – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Golf)
2022-23 – Esther Miller – North Park (Women's Basketball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Golf)
2021-22 – Ellen Gilbert – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Swimming & Diving)
2020-21 – Favor Ezewuzie – Wheaton (Women's Track & Field) 
2019-20 – Megan Behrendt – Carthage (Women's Volleyball)
2018-19 – Tyler Brown – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Volleyball)
2017-18 – Amelia Glueck – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Track & Field)
2016-17 – Meg Stanley – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Swimming)
2015-16 – Jill Harmon – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Track & Field)
2014-15 – Kelsey Graham – Wheaton (Women's Soccer)
2013-14 – Lexi Baltes – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Basketball)
2012-13 – Elise Anderson – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
2011-12 – Lauren Knaack – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Soccer)
2010-11 – Elizabeth Ave Maria – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
2009-10 – Lindsey Haines – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Golf)
2008-09 – Nicole Spear – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Golf)
2007-08 – Sarah Richardson – Wheaton (Women's Soccer)
2006-07 – Meghan Voiland – Augustana (Women's Track & Field)
2005-06 – Melinda Sprague – Illinois Wesleyan (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)