ATLANTA – Eastern Kentucky University softball alum Jeanay Riley has been named a finalist from the Atlantic Sun Conference for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, announced by the league on Friday afternoon.
 
Riley graduated from EKU this Spring with a 3.82 GPA and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology: Concentration in Child and Family Psychology.
 
On the field, Riley was named the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-ASUN after leading the league in hits (71), batting average (.406), doubles (18), triples (5), and runs scored (47).
 
EKU softball finished the 2024 season with a 42-10 overall record – capturing the ASUN Regular Season Championship – and advancing to the ASUN Tournament semifinals where the team suffered a 6-2 loss to No. 2 seed North Florida.
 
Off the field, Riley regularly volunteered her time in the Richmond and campus community with service projects.  She was EKU's representative for the 2024 ASUN Spring Winner's for Life Award, honoring those who display excellence on and off the playing surface. The team honors a campus citizen who is respected as one who shares and/or demonstrates the ASUN Core Values: Education, Honesty, Student-Athlete Experience, Fairness, Health, Ambition, Respect, Diversity, Inclusion, Leadership, Responsibility, and Sportsmanship. 
 
Riley, a native of Louisville, Ky., will move forward to the final round of the selection process up against North Florida's Rocio Lian Moro Torres.
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year program was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions. To be eligible, a nominee must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have earned her undergraduate degree by Summer 2024.