Rocha Nominated for 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's soccer alumna Rachel Rocha has been selected as a nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Established in 1991 and now in its 31st year, the Woman of the Year award is among the most distinguished awards in the Association and celebrates the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. The award honors graduating female student-athletes across all three divisions who have distinguished themselves in athletics, academics, leadership, and community service.

The Linden, New Jersey native led the SJC Brooklyn Class of 2021 this past May as valedictorian — the fourth Bears student-athlete to ever be selected for the honor. The marketing major and business administration minor graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.87 and received her Bachelor of Science magna cum laude, while also earning departmental honors and inductions into the Delta Epsilon Sigma, Kappa Gamma Pi, and Sigma Iota Chi honor societies.

On the pitch, Rocha was a standout on the women's soccer team and her leadership skills were evident early on as she was named a co-captain midway through her freshman campaign. A defensive central midfielder who played and started every Bears game over the past three seasons, she helped fortify a defense that saw significant improvements in goals allowed and goal differential, but also joined the offense tallying 17 goals and 11 assists over her 51 games played. Her efforts aided the team to its first two Skyline playoff appearances in program history. 

Rocha displayed her leadership off the field as well and was elected to the Bears Student-Athlete Advisory Committee executive board as a rising sophomore and served for three years, including her final term president. She also volunteered as the student manager for the women's basketball team. 

Outside of athletics, she was also immersed on campus serving as an orientation leader and was a resident advisor in the dorms. Rocha was also the lead student tour guide for the Office of Admissions and helped tutor fellow peers in the Academic Center.

Post-graduation, Rocha continues to pursue her dream of working in the world of sports. She just completed a public relations internship for the New York Knicks and will join the Philadelphia Eagles game day staff for this upcoming season. This fall, she will begin pursuing a Masters of Science in sport business at Temple University and will work in their athletic department as a graduate assistant.

Over 220,000 women are competing in college sports and Rocha is one of 535 nominations the NCAA received for this prestigious award — 177 coming from Division III and four from the Skyline Conference. In early August, the Skyline Conference executive board will advance two nominees to the national pool from where the Woman of the Year selection committee will identify the Top 30 — 10 from each division. From the Top 30 announced in September, the committee will then select nine finalists and the Woman of the Year to be announced in the fall.

School nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year Award named (from NCAA.org)