Senior guard Kiana Johnson of Virginia Union University was named the basketball nominee for the Class of 2016 Division II Honda Athlete of the Year as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.

She is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII Honda Athlete of the Year honor. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 40th year.

Johnson was named the WBCA DII Player of the Year and headlined the WBCA All-America first-team. She was also named the CIAA Player of the Year, the State Player of the Year by the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the VaSID Player of the Year.

Johnson, in her first and only season at VUU, led the NCAA Division II in scoring after she averaged 29.2 points per game and was second nationally in assists with 8.7 per game. She set a new school record for points (905) and assists (268) in a season and posted single-game school records of 45 points (Feb. 13) and 17 assists (Jan. 11). Johnson also set a VUU school-record and NCAA Tournament Record by scoring 49 points in the championship game of the Atlantic Region.

“Kiana is the type of player coaches dream about,” said head coach AnnMarie Gilbert. “Not only could she score, rebound, dish the ball off and play defense, but she was an unselfish player who made everyone around her better.  She was the most complete player I’ve come across in my 22 years of coaching, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to help develop her.”

All sports nominees from DII and DIII become a finalist for the prestigious 2016 Honda Collegiate Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented on a live telecast on June 27, 2016, in the Founders’ Room at the Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California in downtown Los, Angeles.

The sports nominees are recognized in 11 DII and DIII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.

The CWSA, celebrating its 40^th year, has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.  Since commencing its sponsorship thirty years ago in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.0 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.