Decorated Wildcats swimmer Seidt finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year
LEXINGTON, Ky. (BVM) — Asia Seidt is no stranger to accolades. A winner since the first day she entered a pool, Seidt has excelled in her sport. In her four years at the University of Kentucky, she has managed to become the all-time record holder in the swimming & diving program’s history.
The Louisville native fell in love with the City of Lexington the first time she visited. Growing up in a University of Kentucky household perhaps made that decision easier for her, as fans of both programs are aware of the divide between the two schools and cities. Since Seidt decided to become a Wildcat, she has gained a number of impressive accolades, including being a 2020 US Olympic Trials Qualifier, the 2020 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, an eight-time NCAA first team All-American, the 2019 Ms. Wildcat recipient, along with a plethora of other accomplishments which would be much too many to name. Many of these awards are among the top honors a student-athlete can receive. Yet, Seidt would not consider any of those to be her proudest accomplishment.
For Seidt, being one of the nine NCAA Woman of the Year Finalists is her crowning achievement. In the coming weeks, if she were to win, the trophy case would become even more crowded.
The NCAA Woman of the Year is an annual award given to a female student athlete who best displays “academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership,” according to NCAA.org. Each school nominates one of their athletes for this award. The school’s conference then reviews its schools’ nominations and sends their final nominees to the NCAA. The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee then chooses their Top 30, consisting of 10 student-athletes from each division (Division I, Division II, and Division III). That is narrowed down once again to nine athletes, which is where the competition currently stands. Seidt, no surprise, has made it to the final nine.
“I think right after the NCAA Championship was cancelled was when I got a call from someone in the athletics department,” Seidt said. “They told me they were nominating me for NCAA Woman of the Year, and that was such an incredible honor.”
This nomination is one of the highest honors a female student-athlete can receive. It takes someone extraordinarily involved in their community, extremely talented in their respective sport and academically gifted to even be nominated by their school. To reach the final nine, as Seidt now has, takes someone simply special.
“I never would’ve thought I would have been able to get here because you’re in the sport for four years and you hear about these girls and it’s not something where you’re ever like ‘Oh I could definitely do that,’” Seidt said. “But to be named and to see the field of girls that I’m in right now — it’s absolutely incredible.”
The results for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced in the coming weeks. It has been a long time coming for Seidt, who said she didn’t realize how long of a process it would be.
“We’re finally coming to the end, and I’m excited to go to that virtual ceremony in November and see what happens.”
Of course, it takes more than just swimming accolades to win this award. Though, for Seidt, this is not too large of a concern. She graduated last year Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA in kinesiology. In addition, in her four years as a Wildcat, she completed over 200 hours of community service.
The service opportunity that meant the most to Seidt came during part of the Big Brother Big Sister program she has participated in for the past year and a half.
“I have a little sister who is my mentee, and I used to go to school with her once a week and just get to hang out with her and do activities within the community with her,” Seidt said. “She’s 10 years old, and I think kids see a different aspect than we do, so it’s pretty cool to just take a break from my life as a student-athlete and just get to hang out with her.”
Somehow, between swimming, working in the community, and setting records, Seidt has found time for her studies. A 4.0 student, and recipient of several SEC and national academic awards, following her graduation Seidt has begun physical therapy school at the University of Kentucky, where she is currently in her first semester.
The all-time record holder for the University of Kentucky’s swimming and diving program, Seidt will look to add another accolade when the NCAA Woman of the Year competition is complete. What would cap off such an illustrious career better than the highest honor a female student athlete can receive? For Seidt, the time is close.
