INDIANAPOLIS - University of North Georgia women's soccer player Taylor Malasek was announced as one of the Top 30 honorees for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the selection committee announced Thursday afternoon.

Malasek is the first player from UNG and the second from the Peach Belt to advance into the top 30 of the Woman of the Year nominations. Malasek, a senior from Peachtree City, Georgia, is a 2019 All-American and has been named All-Conference three times in her career. Additionally, she was named to the PBC Team of Academic Distinction three times so far in her career and has multiple academic awards at the regional and national level.

Selected from 535 school nominees, a group that was then narrowed to 154 conference nominees, the top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Of the 30 honorees, only Malasek and Stony Brook's Chelsie DePonte are soccer players.

"We are thrilled to recognize the 30 honorees selected this year," said John Kietzmann, chair of the selection committee and associate director of athletics for marketing at Metropolitan State University of Denver. "These women excelled in the classroom and competition, while still prioritizing serving their peers and communities despite the challenges they faced during the pandemic. They represent the thousands of women competing in college sports each year, and we congratulate them for their incredible achievements."

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 will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year.

On Tuesday, November 9, during a virtual awards ceremony, the Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named.