Rocha Announced as 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award Conference-Level Nominee

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Following her recent nomination for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's soccer alumna Rachel Rocha has advanced to the next round as one of the Skyline Conference nominees.

Out of the 535 school nominations for this year's award, 153 were announced as conference-level nominees by the Association today. The nominees represent student-athletes from 18 different sports spanning all three NCAA divisions. Of those nominated, 57 nominees competed in Division I, 36 in Division II, and 60 in Division III.

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

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.

The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in September. The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced this fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year.

2021 NCAA Woman of the Year conference-level nominees announced (from NCAA.org)