Oneonta Sports Information Department

The NCAA announced that 517 female student athletes have been nominated for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award – the most ever for the honor – now in its 26^th year.  Of the nominees, 231 competed in Division I, 117 competed in Division II and 169 competed in Division III athletics.  Included on the list of Division III nominees are SUNY Oneonta graduates Erica Berry (Bellmore/Kellenberg Memorial)and Lyteshia Price (Liverpool/Liverpool), who were both four-year starters for the soccer and basketball teams respectively.
 
The Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
 
The NCAA encourages member schools to honor its top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.
 
Then, conferences assess each nominee's eligibility and select up to two conference nominees. All conference nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which chooses the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.
 
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three nominees from each division and announces the top nine finalists in late September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.
 
The 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, and the Top 30 honorees celebrated, at the annual award ceremony Oct. 16 in Indianapolis.
 
To view the list of school nominees, click here.
 
Berry, a criminal justice major, was a four-year starter for the women's soccer team.  During her career, she helped lead the Red Dragons to a pair of SUNYAC championships and two NCAA Appearances.  She was an All-Conference selection twice and, this past fall, was an NSCAA Second Team All-Region player.
 
"I am very proud that our athletic department has recognized Erica as the stand out student-athlete she has become and nominated her for the NCAA Woman of the Year," said her coach Liz McGrail.  "It is an honor to have coached her for four years and to witness her growth and success on and off the pitch.  She is a remarkable young woman who excelled as a player and made her teammates better.  Her commitment to excellence was just as strong in the classroom; improving her GPA every year.  Erica was the whole package that any coach would want representing their program.
 
Academically, Berry earned SUNYAC All-Academic Team and Commissioner's List accolades three times while being inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma National Student Athlete Honor Society.
 
Berry is currently enrolled in the criminal justice graduate program at Molloy College.  She is taking her first class that is being taught by a retired NYPD police captain.  She anticipates completing her degree by the Fall of 2017.
 
Price had one of the greatest individual seasons ever in the history of the women's basketball program.  She will leave the program either at the top or in the top-10 in just about every category.
 
This past winter Price became only the second women's player to earn All-American honors from the WBCA while becoming only the third player to be selected as the SUNYAC Player of the Year.  She became the eighth player to reach 1,000 career points for the women while being the only player to score 1,000 points and grab 700 rebounds.  She finished with 1,097 points and 727 rebounds the latter of which is tied for the all-time lead.
 
Price, who graduated with a degree in biology, is currently working as an environmental counselor at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, NY.  This position requires her to work with environmentalists to survey the grounds and help conduct their tests.  Also, she will be leading tours to children that come for summer camps by teaching them information on how to care for the environment. 
 
 
"This is an outstanding honor for a woman who gave all she could to both of her academic and athletic careers," stated Head Women's Basketball Coach Daphne Thompson.  "This recognition validates all that she did to overcome the challenges she faced during her collegiate career.  She is an amazing person!"