INDIANAPOLIS – Jaime Jacob of the Cal State San Marcos women’s golf team has been named a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) honoree for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the conference office announced on Tuesday.
Jacob and Stanislaus State’s Sierra Adams are among the 161 female honorees across all three divisions and are two of the 39 representing Division II to be selected by their conferences as nominees for the NCAA’s prestigious honor.
“Speaking for everyone in the CCAA, we are so proud to have our conference represented by two outstanding individuals like Jaime and Sierra,” said CCAA commissioner Mitch Cox. “Both of these ladies have performed at the highest level in the community, the classroom and their chosen sport, and we are extremely excited about what the future holds for them.”
Jacob excelled in the classroom at CSUSM, where she earned her degree in global business management with an emphasis in marketing. Matriculating with an impressive 3.96 grade-point average, Jacob was twice named a CoSIDA Academic All-American and also earned distinction as the CCAA Championship Scholar on two occasions. The Encinitas native and mainstay on the College of Business Administration Dean’s List was also selected as the Cal State San Marcos Outstanding Senior for Global Business Management in her final year as a Cougar.
In the community, Jacob served as a member of the Cal State San Marcos Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which opened her eyes not only to the impact athletes have on their university but also on the surrounding community. The platform of SAAC allowed her the opportunity to organize and participate in various activities like toy and canned food drives and other local community service events.
On the course, Jacob played to back-to-back CCAA team and individual titles with the Cougars, and in 2019, she earned NCAA Division II individual medalist honors to become the first CCAA woman to take home the women’s golf national title. She helped guide the Cal State San Marcos team not only to their first NCAA Championship appearance but also to runner-up status in match play after leading the event following the stroke-play rounds.
“I am so proud to not only represent my team of amazing and determined women but also my university and conference,” said Jacob. “It is such an honor to be able to represent the hard work that all of us women put into our athletic and academic careers.”
Although unable to defend her individual crown in the shortened 2020 season, Jacob earned consecutive WGCA All-American first-team honors and was picked to represent the United States in the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, which is expected to be contested in December. The three-time CCAA Golfer of the Year leaves Cal State San Marcos with program records of 13 tournament wins and a scoring average of 73.54 strokes per round, along with many other season and career benchmarks etched in the Cougars’ record books.
“What an honor for Jaime to be nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award,” said CSUSM Head Golf Coach Greg Hutton. “Jaime has had a decorated career at CSUSM, both as a student and an athlete. This nomination validates her commitment and work ethic during her time at CSUSM.”
The NCAA Woman of the Year program is rooted in Title IX and has recognized graduating female college athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership since its inception in 1991.
A record 605 women from across the country were nominated by NCAA member schools. Along with Adams and Jacob, Kelly Kevershan (Cal State San Bernardino women’s soccer), Sadie Ortiz (Stanislaus State women’s soccer), Natalie Saddic (UC San Diego women’s soccer), and Valentina Sanabria (Cal State San Bernardino women’s track & field) were also nominated by their institutions.
Eligible female student-athletes are first nominated by their member school. Each conference office then reviews the nominations from its core member schools (and sponsored sports) and submits its conference nominee(s) to the NCAA. Conferences can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete. All nominees that compete in a sport that is not sponsored by their core conference, associate conference nominees and independent nominees will be sent to a separate pool to be considered by a committee.
Then, the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee identifies the Top 30 – 10 from each division – and from there selects three finalists from each division, which will be announced this September. The Committee on Women’s Athletics then selects the winner from the nine finalists. The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named this fall.
