By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
Georgia’s Abigail McCulloh has been named one of the Top 30 finalists for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, representing the sole swimmer among this year’s honorees.
Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics, and in academics throughout their college careers.
McCulloh, who graduated with a degree in journalism in May, was selected from a record-breaking 631 nominees submitted by member schools—a group that was then narrowed to 167 nominees at the conference level. The Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions.
“These honorees represent the very best of what it means to be a student-athlete, and the character-building potential that is inherent in all athletic pursuits. They have distinguished themselves among the many thousands of collegiate athletes who find and surpass their limits every day on the journey to becoming their best selves, not just in sport, but in life,” said Marion Terenzio, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and president of SUNY Cobleskill, in the NCAA’s press release. “I congratulate all of the remarkable women named to the Top 30 and applaud their demonstrated ability to create positive change in themselves and in the world around them.”
As a freshman in 2022, McCulloh placed third in the 1650 free and sixth in the 500 free at the SEC Championships before taking fifth in the 1650 free and 16th in the 500 free at NCAAs. In 2023, she finished fourth in the 1650 free and 11th in the 500 free at SECs, then touched 12th in the 1650 free and 21st in the 500 free at NCAAs.
McCulloh’s breakout year came in 2024 when she won both the SEC and NCAA titles in the 1650 free, adding a third-place finish in the 500 free at SECs and sixth at NCAAs. She capped off her career in 2025 with a second-place showing in the 1650 free and fifth in the 500 free at the SEC meet, followed by fourth in the 1650 free and 12th in the 500 free at NCAAs.
In the summer of 2024, she swam to 10th in the 800m free, 11th in the 1500m free, and 15th in the 400m free at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Off the pool deck, McCulloh received the 2025 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. She also earned the Rose Bowl Keith Jackson Postgraduate Scholarship and multiple University of Georgia Presidential Scholar honors.
She was presented with the 2024 Joel Eaves Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the UGA female senior student-athlete with the highest GPA entering the school year, and served as the female student-athlete representative to the UGA Athletic Association Board of Directors.
McCulloh was also recognized for her service work, earning a spot on the 2025 SEC Community Service Team and a nomination for the Allstate National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Good Works Team. She served as a guest services volunteer at Athens Church, assisted with children involved in ESP and Special Olympics, and worked with Swim Across America, where she fundraised for childhood cancer research.
Four Georgia student-athletes have won the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in years past, three of which were swimmers: Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000), and Kim Black (2001). Most recently, track and field athlete Keturah Orji earned the honor in 2018.
According to Georgia Athletics, McCulloh is the 18th swimmer to be nominated by the university and the 16th Bulldog to advance to the Top 30.
The selection committee will select the winner from the finalist pool, with the official announcement scheduled for Wednesday, November 5.
All Nominees
Journey Amundson (Saint Louis), Indoor and outdoor track and field Bethany Arabe (Point Loma), Soccer Ellie Arndt (Wisconsin-La Crosse), Soccer Sivan Auerbach (Oklahoma State), Cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field Chiara Barbieri (Presbyterian), Wrestling Natalie Barnouw (MIT), Soccer Nikki Boon (Emory), Indoor and outdoor track and field Ella Brissett (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps), Tennis Paige Bueckers (UConn), Basketball Kimberly DeBoer (San Francisco State), Volleyball Avery Decker (Nebraska Wesleyan), Outdoor track and field Hailey Gregg (Bethel Minnesota), Indoor and outdoor track and field Grace Hartman (NC State), Cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field Meghan Hunter (Brigham Young), Cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field Anna Igims (Slippery Rock), Cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field Ellie Jones (Belhaven), Softball and volleyball Kendall Kramer (Alaska Fairbanks), Cross country and skiing Abigail Lee (Middle Tennessee), Golf Mia Levy (Yale), Rowing Carmen Llopis Fabra (Illinois Springfield), Tennis Jaci Maze (Azusa Pacific), Soccer Abigail McCulloh (Georgia), Swimming and diving Emily Moehringer (Catholic), Cross country and outdoor track and field Mary Kelly Mulcahy (Findlay), Golf Hailey Poe (North Central Illinois), Triathlon Samantha Schott (Texas at Tyler), Softball Teagan Starkey (Concordia-St. Paul), Volleyball Avery Williams (Columbus State), Soccer Leanne Wong (Florida), Gymnastics Alyssa Xu (Amherst), Ice hockeyRead the full story on SwimSwam: Georgia’s Abigail McCulloh Named Top 30 Honoree for NCAA Woman of the Year
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