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Lauren Fox has made the list. The Longwood University softball player is one of nine athletes across all of the universities in the Big South Conference to be a finalist for the Big South Woman of the Year award. She’s also been nominated for the larger NCAA Woman of the Year award as well. 

Nominees for the annual honor are submitted by the Big South’s member institutions, and a Selection Committee of Conference Administrators selects the winner. Fox was an All-Big South First Team selection on the softball field after serving as one of the top hitters in the league. She hit .337, good for second in the Big South, while helping Longwood finish second in the Big South standings. In her Longwood career, she played more than 160 games in her four years.

Yet her contributions to Longwood extend far beyond her performance on the field. This spring, she was awarded the Joan of Arc Excellence Award. The award recognized her achievements in the classroom as well as her leadership and service. 

She has been a multi-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which provides student-athletes a voice. This year, she was the vice president, and she has served as a team representative throughout her time at Longwood.

At the Longwood Student-Athlete Awards Banquet, she was named the Henry I. Willett Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She has been active working with Morgan’s Message to raise both awareness and the importance of mental health for student-athletes as well.

This year’s other nominees are Charleston Southern softball player Blake Holtorf, High Point basketball player Callie Scheier, Presbyterian College softball player Kaitlyn Tucker, Radford lacrosse goalkeeper Olivia Hunter, Radford soccer player Helena Willson, UNC Asheville track & field athlete Mallory Haney, USC Upstate soccer goalkeeper Cora Brendle, and Winthrop golfer Valentine Savioz.