Jodi Johnson, a sophomore guard from Ashland University, was named the DII 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.

Johnson is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII Honda Woman Athlete of the Year. 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 42nd year.

“It is a tremendous honor to be nominated for this award,” Johnson said. “As I've been saying all year, I played on the best team in the country with the best teammates in the country. Consideration for awards like this can only happen when you are surrounded by great people in such a great program. I am truly grateful.”

Johnson, hailing from Wadsworth, Ohio, was named the 2018 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Player of the Year honor and most recently was named the NCAA DII Women’s Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) Ron Lenz Player of the Year. The first-team All-American led her team to the 2018 National Championship title game.

Johnson led the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (58.1) and steals per game (3.7). She also shot 60.3 percent from the field and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line, while averaging 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest.

She was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year after garnering the Freshman of the Year honor last season and earned first-team All-GLIAC honors.  

“Jodi had an outstanding season,” stated head coach Robyn Fralick. “She is fearless and competitive, and impacted the game in every possible way. She was instrumental in our team’s success.”

Former Ashland University basketball standout Kari Daugherty is the only back-to-back DII Woman Athlete of the Year award winner in CWSA history and the second two-time award winner.

All Honda Sports nominees from DII and DIII become a finalist for the prestigious 2018 Honda Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in a live telecast on CBS Sports on June 25, 2018, in downtown Los Angeles. The Honda 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 Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 42 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.   Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.