FAIRFAX, Va. – Two incredible ambassadors for George Mason University have been nominated for one of the most prestigious honors in collegiate athletics.
 
Atlantic 10 Conference member institutions have nominated a record total of 17 extraordinary female student-athletes for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The pool of nominees, which were announced Tuesday by the A-10, represent nine sports across 13 A-10 institutions.
 
Annabelle Eastman (women's track & field/cross country) and Aly Rayle (softball) were both announced by the Atlantic 10 Conference as nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. They were two of just 17 student-athlete nominees from the Atlantic 10. 
 
A second-team all-American, Eastman compiled an impressive career on and off the track for the Patriots. The Melbourne, Australia native won three A-10 gold medals, one as cross country champion and two golds in the 3000m steeplechase at the outdoor track and field championships, and earned 2021 CoSIDA Academic First Team All-District and is a USTFCCA Academic All-American for her accomplishments in the classroom. 
 
Eastman was the 2021 Atlantic 10 cross-country champion, becoming Mason's first athlete since 2013 to win the individual title. She became only the sixth-ever Mason female athlete to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships and the first since 1996. She placed 92nd at the national meet for her second straight top-100 finish, having finished 83rd overall in 2021.
 
She qualified for two consecutive NCAA Cross Country Championships by placing seventh in the NCAA Southeast Region, one of the toughest in the country.
 
The Atlantic 10 steeplechase champion finished 13th in the 3000m Steeplechase at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She originally qualified for the NCAA outdoor track and field national championship after finishing fifth in the steeplechase at the NCAA East Preliminaries. Ranked No. 15 in the country, she placed third in the first heat with a time of 9:54.68 to automatically advance to Eugene.
 
Eastman found time to intern for Mason Recreation for two years as an undergrad. This year, she is working for Mason Recreation as a program assistant for well-being.
 
Aly Rayle graduated from the University of Virginia in May 2022 and enrolled in graduate school for global affairs at Mason. After playing for the Cavaliers all four seasons – she made an immediate impact at Mason, leading the Patriots to the second-most wins ever in program history with 35 total wins, tying the 1981 team. The Patriots earned its first-ever conference championship this season while setting a new Mason record for most conference wins in a season with 16.
 
Rayle was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year (19-9, 2.01 ERA, 1 SV), becoming Mason's first Pitcher of the Year and First Team-All Conference Pitcher winner since Marina Vitalich's 2017 season. She lead the conference in overall strikeouts (242) and looking strikeouts (72). She finished the A-10 tournament with a 4-1 record, pitched 33 innings, and recorded 39 strikeouts to earn the Atlantic 10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player award. 
 
This season, an NFCA National Pitcher of the Week awardee, Rayle set the all-time single-season strikeouts record and became the only Patriot pitcher to have struck out 200 batters in a single season. 
 
In her one year with the Patriots, Rayle has set records on the career numbers side as well. She is tied for first in no-hitters pitched (3) alongside Lisa Davis (1997-00) and Marsha Boyd (1990-93), who both took four years to reach the same goal. Finally, her 2.01 ERA puts her tied for seventh all-time with Shannon Hiltner (1997-99).
 
Rayle has been a leader in the community with countless hours of devotion to a variety of causes throughout her career at Mason and UVA. She was an active team member volunteering at Mason softball's adopted school Willow Spring Elementary School, this past year.
 
In her four years at UVA, Rayle volunteered with Virginia's youth at the Madison's House Cavaliers, the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia at summer camps, and as a buddy runner at the local Girls on the Run races. She has been involved with the Capital Area Food Bank at both schools, packaging boxes of food for families in need.
 
Rayle has experiences on leadership councils and advisory committees, having been elected to Athletics Advisory Council for the 2019-20 school year and served on the team Leadership Council for two years.
 
 A native of Herndon, Virginia, the former University of Virginia pitcher started in 55 of her 88 games, finishing her undergraduate career with a 3.62 ERA in 290.1 innings. Rayle gave up 271 hits, 82 walks, 166 runs, and struck out 259 in the circle over the four years as a Cavalier. 
 
The league's Senior Woman Administrators will vote on the nominees to select two student-athletes who will be named A-10 Woman of the Year and represent the Atlantic 10 Conference as 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year conference finalists. The A-10 now incorporates the two NCAA conference nominees as the two winners of the Atlantic 10 Woman of the Year, an award that was formalized in 2023.
 
The 17 institutional nominees have been recognized for their leadership skills, their academic prowess, exceptional athletic success and for their community service. The candidates have noteworthy credentials, garnering All-Conference awards, postseason championship participation and national and A-10 academic honors.
 
One of the most prestigious NCAA awards, the NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. Now in its 33rd year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
 
Per the NCAA, all conference-level nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will choose the top 10 honorees in each division. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the three finalists in each division. Finally, the members of the Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top 30 honorees will be honored, and the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced this fall.