After capturing the honor the last two seasons, Sydney Moss, a senior from Thomas More College, was once again named the DIII Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for basketball as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

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.

"I am very honored to be nominated for such a great and amazing award for the third-straight year,” stated Moss. “To be recognized as one of the best across the country is an amazing feeling and I am so blessed to be put in that category.  This honor would not be possible without my Thomas More teammates, which I have enjoyed play alongside the past three seasons."

A native of St. Albans, W.Va., this marks the third straight season Moss has been the unanimous National Player of the Year as she earned the honor three times from the WBCA, D3hoops.com and DIII News. All three outlets recognized Moss with first-team All-America honors for the past three seasons as well. Moss led her team to back-to-back national championships with back-to-back perfect seasons. She has been the representative for basketball for the DIII Honda Athlete of the Year for the past two seasons.

The senior averaged 22.1 points per game, shot 49.9 percent from the field, including 37.9 percent from behind the three-point arc.  She also led the team on the boards with 7.4 rebounds per game, while she is second in assists with 156 and has blocked 18 shots and recorded 48 steals.

"It has been a pleasure to watch Sydney grow on and off the court,” said head coach Jeff Hans. “Sydney had a lot of tremendous games during the season and her career, but she always played her best when the challenges were the greatest. Sydney is a very humble young lady and that is one her best character traits. It is a great honor for Sydney to receive this award.“

All sports nominees from DIII and DII 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 DIII and DII 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.