CANTON, GA – Former Johns Hopkins women's basketball standout Michaela O'Neil added another prestigious award to her collection, as she was named the 2024-25 Region V women's recipient of the Division III Commissioners Association (D3CA) Regional Student-Athlete of the Year award, announced Wednesday.
 
O'Neil becomes the first player in program history to garner the award and now advances to the national ballot for the D3CA Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year, which will be announced next month.
 
The association names 20 student-athletes each year as recipients of the Regional Student-Athlete of the Year award. These prestigious awards, now in their third year, recognize graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence in athletics, academics, leadership and service throughout their collegiate careers.
 
Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, serves as the presenting sponsor of this awards.
 
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.