LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky softball player Katie Reed, who graduated in May of 2019, has been chosen as the University of Kentucky’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year.
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.
Reed has done nothing but uphold her own high standard of excellence in everything she touched during her time at Kentucky. She was named the program’s third National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) All-American in 2017, president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), graduated in four years with a 4.0 grade-point average in Human Health Science (Dentistry) and was the winner of the 2019 Senior CLASS Award.
“I can’t think of a worthier nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year than Katie Reed,” UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “She has been a standout on the field since the moment she first put on a Kentucky jersey and is one the best students I have had the pleasure of knowing. She has adopted the Bluegrass as her second home and fully embraced being a positive role model for so many in our community. During her four years at UK, Katie grew into a leadership role not only on her team, but also for all our 500-plus student-athletes. She has a bright future ahead of her and she will always be a Wildcat.”
On the field, Reed was named to the Southeastern Conference’s All-Freshman Team, First Team, Second Team and All-Defensive Team a total of six times. Additionally, Reed was the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2018 and 2019, becoming UK’s first two-time winner of the award and just the third multi-time winner since the award’s inception in 2004.
Reed was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2018, as she joined Bailey Vick as the first two players to ever be awarded first-team honors. She backed that up with a second-straight first team appearance in 2019. The shortstop was also crowned 2019 Miss Wildcat at the CATSPY Awards, the highest honor that a Kentucky student-athlete can have bestowed on them.
The St. Louis, Missouri, native was drafted No. 19 overall in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Chicago Bandits, where she is currently playing her first season of professional softball. Immediately following the season, she will be making her way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is enrolling in the University of Pittsburgh’s dental school for her first semester of classes this fall.
The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each division from the top 30 and announce the nine finalists in September. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will choose the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual award ceremony on Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.
