Swimmer Gretchen Walsh was named the Collegiate Lady Athlete of the 12 months on Monday evening, capping a profession on the College of Virginia that included 25 complete NCAA occasion titles, 9 of them particular person.
Walsh was given the Honda Cup throughout an awards ceremony. She is the ninth swimmer to win the award, and the primary since Simone Manuel in 2018.
The Class of 2025 Prime Three included Walsh, UConn basketball participant Paige Bueckers and Texas Tech softball pitcher NiJaree Canady. The highest three are voted on by practically 1,000 NCAA faculties, with the Honda Cup winner decided by the Collegiate Girls’s Sports activities Awards board of administrators.
Walsh led Virginia to the 2025 NCAA ladies’s swimming title and gained three particular person titles. She can also be the two-time ACC Scholar-Athlete of the 12 months for swimming and diving.
On the 2024 Paris Olympics, Walsh gained two gold and two silver medals and set two world information.
“We’re extremely pleased with her accomplishments each within the pool and within the classroom, and we look ahead to watching her proceed to rise as she prepares for the World Championships and the 2028 Olympic Video games,” stated Chris Voel, the chief director of the CWSA. “We’re thrilled to welcome Gretchen to the CWSA household, becoming a member of the elite group of swimmers who’ve earned this prestigious honor earlier than her.”
Caitlin Clark gained the earlier two Honda Cups. Earlier swimming winners embody Jill Sterkel (1981), Tracy Caulkins (1982, 1984), Mary T. Meagher (1987), Cristina Teuscher (2000), Tara Kirk (2004), Missy Franklin (2015), Katie Ledecky (2017), and Manuel (2018).