Courtesy of Morgan State Athletic Communications
BALTIMORE, Md., July 14, 2020--Roi Wallace is one of a record 605 female college athletes, who have been nominated by NCAA member schools for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year award, as announced by the NCAA Office on Tuesday in Indianapolis, Ind.
Wallace, who graduated this past May with a 3.4 GPA in sociology, was a nominee earlier this year for Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Woman of the Year.
Rooted in Title IX and directed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three NCAA divisions. In 2020, nearly 220,000 women are competing in college sports, and the NCAA received a program record of 605 nominations for this prestigious award.
A native of San Dimas, Calif., Wallace was a second-team All-MEAC selection this past season. She led the MEAC in assists per set (10.32) and was tied for first in service aces (0.57), while ranking fifth in the nation in aces per set and fifth in total aces with 67.
Wallace served her final season in the orange and blue as team leader (captain) and was also the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President. A six-time MEAC Setter of the Week in 2019, Wallace collected a season-best 1,218 assists as a senior, which ranks third on the Morgan State single-season charts.
She became the third Lady Bear all-time to reach 3,000-plus career assists when she reached the 3,000 assists mark, following a 55-assists performance in a win over Binghamton (9/21) in the Hoya Invitational (9/21).
A three-time MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team selection, Wallace helped lead Morgan State to its first trip to the MEAC title match since 2006. In her final contest as a Lady Bear, she would set a career-high 67 assists in that championship match against Howard (11/24).
Wallace finished her collegiate career leading the team in assists all four years, posting 3,754 assists for her career to rank second all-time on the Morgan State charts. She also totaled 740 digs (17th all-time), 149 service aces (8th all-time), 124 kills and 66 blocks for her career.
As SAAC President, Wallace initiated the first BearCup at Morgan State, which was a competition amongst the athletic teams at Morgan to attend sporting events, community service and maintain a high GPA.
She coordinated visits to MedStar Memorial Hospital for athletes, as well as organized movie nights, student-athlete panels and other events for both students and student-athletes to attend.
Wallace, who participated in a mentorship program with girls at Holabird Middle School in Baltimore, most recently read to elementary school kids virtually once the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.
The nominees competed in 24 different sports across all three NCAA divisions, including 259 from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Multisport student-athletes account for 128 of the nominees.
Conference offices will select their nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year. 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.
The selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each division from the Top 30 and announce the nine finalists. From those 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.