Dickinson, Boston named to NCAA Woman of Year Top 30
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Two former student-athletes from the Southeastern Conference are a part of the Top 30 for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Callie Dickinson of Georgia, a previous member of the Bulldogs' swimming & diving program, and Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, who was a member of the Gamecocks' women's basketball team, represent the SEC in the pool of candidates in Division I.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers. The NCAA Woman of the Year program is an opportunity to honor and reflect on the impact of women on intercollegiate sports.
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee will next announce nine finalists in November, three from each NCAA division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will review the finalists and name the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the Woman of the Year will be named at the NCAA Convention, which will take place in January 2024 in Phoenix.
Dickinson earned a bachelor's degree in human development and family science with summa cum laude honors in May 2022 and is on track to earn her master's degree in comparative biomedical sciences. A recipient of the 2023 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award along with an NCAA Postgraduate scholarship, she is looking to pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon while continuing to train for the World University Games. Dickinson qualified for the NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships in all five seasons in Athens and earned six College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-America honors. She completed her collegiate career with top-10 times in four events in program history. Dickinson has competed at two U.S. Olympic Trials and reached two finals at the 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships.
A two-time member of the College Sports Communicators (CSC)/CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, she was also named to the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team and the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Dickinson earned a spot on the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll every semester and received Presidential Scholar honors three times. She was president of the UGA chapter of the Blue Key Honor Society and was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the UGA Leadership Education and Development (L.E.A.D.) Academy.
Boston graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in mass communications in May 2023. Named the 2022 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year, she helped her team win the 2022 National Championship along with three SEC regular-season titles and three SEC Tournament titles. Boston, who was chosen as the 2022 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, was a four-time Lisa Leslie Center of the Year, a three-time First-Team All-American, a two-time Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year and the 2020 National Freshman of the Year by ESPN, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She was a two-time SEC Women's Basketball Player of the Year as well as a four-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Boston was named to the All-SEC First Team all four years and was the 2020 SEC Freshman of the Year. She concluded her collegiate career with 1,942 points, 1,493 rebounds, 330 blocks and 82 double-doubles in 138 games played for the Gamecocks.
Boston also earned a gold medal at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup and the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup. The 2021-22 CSC Academic All-America Overall Team Member of the Year, she was also tabbed the CoSIDA Women's Basketball Academic All-American of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Boston was also a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, the Dean's List and the AD Honor Roll. She was the first overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.