LANCASTER, Pa. – Johns Hopkins' Michaela O'Neil and Franklin & Marshall's Kennedy Wilburn have been named the Centennial Conference nominees for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year award it was announced today.
 
Centennial nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year are selected annually by the conference Senior Woman Administrators.
 
O'Neil and Wilburn emerged from a pool of 12 candidates submitted by Centennial member institutions earlier this summer. Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership. The NCAA encourages each member institution to honor its top one or two graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the award.
 
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 2025. The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee identifies the Top 30 – 10 from each division – and then selects the NCAA Woman of the Year, who is honored during an awards presentation at the NCAA Convention. Click here for more information on the award and a list of previous winners.
 
A forward for the Hopkins women's basketball team, O'Neil wrapped up her career as one of the most decorated players in program history while also setting herself apart in the classroom and in the community. She was a three-time All-Centennial performer, earning first team All-Centennial honors in 2024-25 after claiming second team laurels in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. O'Neil was also a D3hoops.com All-Region pick following the 2024-25 season. She led JHU in scoring (12.8 ppg, 8th CC) and blocks (1.8 bpg, 4th CC) and ranked third on the Blue Jays in rebounding (5.3 rpg) this past season. She concluded her career with 1,100 points, 534 rebounds and 119 blocks in 111 career games played, ranking among the top-17 in Hopkins history in each of those categories. During her tenure on the court, Hopkins compiled a four-year record of 93-21 with four trips to the CC championship game, four NCAA appearances and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2024 and 2025.
 
O'Neil's accomplishments in the classroom, on campus and in the community were equally impressive to her exploits on the basketball court. A molecular and cellular biology major from Auburndale, Mass., she graduated this past spring with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average. O'Neil earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Second Team honors in 2024-25, becoming one of just four players in program history to receive that distinction. She was also a three-time CSC Academic All-District award recipient. This past May she became the first Hopkins student-athlete to win the Centennial's overall Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, presented annually to the female student-athlete with the highest grade point average among the 12 individual sport winners throughout the year. O'Neil won the CC Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year as both a junior and senior, one of just two women's basketball players in conference history to receive that honor twice.
 
O'Neil's resume also includes a lengthy list of community service and leadership activities. She served as a lead tutor at the Henderson-Hopkins Elementary and Middle Schools, worked as an undergraduate research assistant for the JHU School of Medicine, mentored at-risk Baltimore high school students through an organization called Thread, worked as an emergency room technician at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, and volunteered at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, the Baltimore City Health Department Immunization Program, Newton Athletes Unlimited, and the Volo Kids Foundation. On campus she was an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving as programming chair in 2024-25.
 
A forward and team captain for the F&M women's basketball team, Wilburn put together a standout playing career while also excelling in the classroom and throughout the community. An All-Centennial Honorable Mention selection this past winter, Wilburn was just shy of averaging a double-double with 12.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while also swiping 1.6 steals per contest for the Diplomats. Her 9.4 rebounds per game ranked third in the conference while her 12.8 points ranked seventh. The Marlton, N.J. native totaled 17 double-doubles throughout her career, including eight during her senior campaign.
 
A psychology and public health major with a minor in Africana studies, Wilburn earned a 3.80 GPA throughout her time at F&M. She was a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree, earning the accolade in both 2022-23 and 2024-25. Wilburn's work in the community and on campus was extensive and impressive. She volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster, Pa., read to children and tutored math at local elementary schools, and served as a partner runner for Girls on the Run. On campus, she was a member of the F&M Student-Athlete Leadership Council (SALC), serving as DEI coordinator, mentored first-year students in the African Americans in Paris course, worked as a teaching assistant and mentor for a Design & Statistics class, worked as the public relations officer for SISTERS, a female empowerment group, served as a peer health educator to help inform her peers on topics such as bystander intervention, consent, healthy relationships, sexual assault awareness, and a personally-designed workshop focused on imposter syndrome, and served as Co-President of F&M's chapter of Psi Chi, an International Psychology Honors Society.