INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – The NCAA released its Top 30 honorees for the 2023 Woman of the Year Award on Monday, selected from a record-breaking 619 candidates. The 2023 Pac-12 Woman of the Year, Arizona's Delaney Schnell, and Arizona State's Audrey Ernst have been chosen as two of 10 Division I candidates in the NCAA’s Top 30. The Pac-12 is 1-of-2 Division I conferences with multiple candidates (SEC) and 1-of-4 overall (PSAC, UAA).

The selection committee will determine nine finalists, three from each NCAA division, and from those finalists the NCAA Committee will go on to name a 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Top 30, along with the Woman of the Year, will be celebrated at the NCAA Convention in January. 

In its 32nd year, the award recognizes the importance of Title XI and female student-athletes committed to distinguishing themselves in their communities, athletics and academics. As athletes that have completed their undergraduate studies, each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.

Four student-athletes from the Pac-12 have won the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award: Justine Schluntz (2010), Lacey Nymeyer (2009), Whitney Myers (2007) and Tanya Jones (1994). All four were student-athletes at the University of Arizona.  

DELANEY SCHNELL

University of Arizona standout Delaney Schnell completed her undergraduate degree in psychological sciences with a 3.815 GPA and her master’s in clinical speech and pathology with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Her academic prowess earned her the 2023 Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar Athlete of the Year award, two College Sports Communicators (CSC) First Team Academic All-America honors and six CSCAA Scholar All-Academic honors, along with multiple Arizona Dean’s List and Academic Distinction awards.

The Tucson native has had decorated athletic successes at both the international and collegiate levels. In her five seasons at Arizona she accumulated six Pac-12 Diving Championship titles, three Pac-12 Diver of the Year awards (’21, ’22, ’23), one NCAA Championship title in the Platform Dive (‘23), holds Arizona program records in all three diving events and owns the Conference record in platform diving. The 12-time All-American has earned three FINA World Championships medals (one silver, two bronze) and made history at the Tokyo Olympics when she took home America’s first-ever medal in the Women’s Synchronized 10-Meter Platform (silver).

An active member of both Tucson and the greater diving community, Schnell has volunteered her time and her skills to multiple community programs such as collaborating with the University’s Team IMPACT, a program that allows college athletes to partners with children with chronic illnesses. The Wildcat has also partnered with local Girl Scout troops as well as local Boys and Girls Clubs in an attempt to give back to her growing community.

AUDREY ERNST

Illinois-native Arizona Sun Devil graduated Summa Cum Laude with an undergraduate degree in nursing and a master's in health care compliance and regulations. Her dedication to academics earned her three College Triathlon Coaches Association Scholar All-America ('20' 21' 22) recognitions and she was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll two times.

Ernst led her team to four USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship titles and earned herself a 2019 individual runner-up finish. She is a two-time USAT All-Region honoree, a USAT All-American, a USAT All-American honoree, and was named her team's MVP in 2019. In international competition, the captain won the 2019 USA Triathlon U-23 National Championship title at the World Triathlon Continental Cup. 

Ernst is no stranger to prestigious awards as she was named the 2023 Pac-12 Tom Hansen award winner for the "the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics, and leadership." Alongside that, she was awarded the 2023 Arizona State Bill Kajikawa Award for her excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service and was a finalist for the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship. 

As an active community member, she served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) as both the Chair of the Mental Health Board and the President. As a Pac-12 Student Athlete Leadership Team representative she spent time in the Tip of the Fork leadership program and EmpowHER women's leadership initiative. Ernst also volunteered at local children's hospitals and studied findings on the impacts of substance misuse prevention as a volunteer research assistant at the 2023 NASPA Conference.