Alyssa Yocky excelled in every aspect of student life during her four years at Fort Lewis College. On Friday, her effort gained national attention.
The recently graduated Skyhawks women’s basketball star from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was selected as one of 10 women in NCAA Division II and one of 30 women across all three divisions of NCAA athletics as an honoree for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
“I honestly wasn’t expecting anything like this,” said Yocky. “It’s so humbling to even be considered for something like that along with the other players from all over the country who are such amazing people. It’s a real honor.”
According to a news release from Fort Lewis College, more than 200,000 women competed in college sports during the 2018-19 school year, and the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics received a record 585 nominations for the award.
Of the 30 women honored, three women from each division will be selected as finalists, and one will be selected as the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year during an awards banquet Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.
Not only was Yocky a star on the women’s basketball team as a 6-foot forward, she was the vice president of the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College, vice president of the Council of Honors Scholars, a pre-health club treasurer and president, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics peer mentor, research mentor and an anatomy teacher’s assistant.
Her presence on the FLC campus immediately caught the eye of first-year president Tom Stritikus and continued to gain the admiration of women’s basketball head coach Jason Flores.
“It was way more than just athletics,” Flores said. “People got to see her involvement in student government and how great she was academically. Then all of a sudden you go watch the team play and you’re like, ‘My goodness, she does everything.’ It’s hard not recognize somebody who does a great job in so many things and is willing to put herself out there and do all of that. It takes a lot of courage.”
Yocky was a biology major and managed a grade-point average higher than 3.90. She did it all while juggling early morning basketball practices and recovery from an Achilles injury her junior year that required surgery.
In her bounce-back senior season, Yocky averaged 11.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. She shot 50% from the field and 72% from the foul line. She also tallied 55 steals while leading a young squad.
“I had a conversation with Alyssa halfway into the season, and she was really stressed out with everything because she does everything,” Flores said. “There are 10 people nominated for this award in Division II, and obviously all are so deserving, but I don’t know of anybody who is as good of a player, student body vice president, leading the honors program and all of that. It’s unique. You don’t get to coach people like that very often. Every once in a while, you get someone who goes above and beyond, and, to be honest, I don’t know how she had the time and discipline to do everything that it takes to actually get all of that done. She’s a role model for a lot of young kids.”
Yocky graduated in April and returned to Albuquerque where she is preparing to take the Medical College Admission Test in mid-July. She plans to move to Tucson, Arizona, for a year and will apply to medical school once she gets her MCAT results.
“Durango and Fort Lewis have been so important to me,” she said. “That support system, it’s been a hard couple of months since leaving because I don’t have those people to go to anymore. But I will always have a home at Fort Lewis, and I couldn’t have asked for better support than what I got in Fort Lewis and from everyone in town and campus who supported me and women’s basketball.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
