LA MIRADA---One of the most prestigious honors that can be awarded to a NCAA female student-athlete is the Women of the Year award, even being considered is a great honor to close one's career with. This year, Kellynn Hayes and Aysia Johnson were Biola Athletics 2023 institutional nominees.

Both Hayes (women's swim & dive) and Johnson (women's basketball) were team leaders who gave their time to serve others both on campus and in our community. 

Hayes, a senior from Plainfield, Illinois, swam distance freestyle at Biola and graduated with her bachelor's in kinesiology. Hayes is all over the swimming and diving school record books, holding program records in the 500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle, 1650 freestyle and 800 freestyle relay. 

"Kellynn has played a tremendous role in the elevation of our women's swim & dive program," stated head coach Nate Harding. "As the current record holder in four different events, Kellynn helped lay a foundation and standard of excellence in the pool. She was probably one of the hardest workers I've ever had the privilege to be on the deck with."

Hayes was also active in her community, serving on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Athletics Advisory Committee (AAC) and volunteered with the kinesiology department. 

Hayes was a three-year SAAC member who worked her way up to the committee's executive board. After just one year as a committee member, Hayes was elected treasurer her junior year and then remained on the executive board as the vice president her senior year.

One of her SAAC responsibilities was to run and organize a sub committee that was responsible for community service. One of the groups biggest events was a can food drive to benefit people in need.

Hayes took on another leadership role as a member of the AAC where she met with a group of university department leads and collaborated with other members on how to improve the student-athlete experience on campus. One of their main objectives for 2022-23 was to grow student mental health awareness and improve access to resources across campus.

Additionally, Hayes volunteered as a personal trainer who made work out programs for clients and taught general exercise knowledge, especially weight lifting. 

Harding concluded, "All of our student-athletes in our women's program are here because of student-athletes like Kellynn who blazed the trails and set a winning standard for our swim and dive program. It was an honor to watch her blossom into the leader and woman she has become today!"

Johnson, a graduate student from Indio, California, played on the women's basketball team for five years and was a three-time team captain. She finished with her bachelor's in business administration and recently graduated with her Master's of Arts in Leadership and Innovation.

"It was a blessing to have Aysia as a part of our program for five years," reflected head coach Alan Nakamura. "When Aysia came to Biola as a freshman it was obvious that she was intelligent and had integrity, but was shy and a little unsure of herself. Over the course of five years, she grew into being a great Christian example, an excellent student, and a team leader from her strong faith in the Lord, her family who lovingly taught her that you have to put in the work to earn your way, and her dedication to the basketball program."

Johnson was a key piece of the Eagles' defense, totalling 589 rebounds, 207 steals, and 19 blocks. She also led the Eagles to their highest finish in the PacWest Conference (4th place in 2023-24), won multiple PacWest Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors, and was named to the PacWest's All-Conference team. 

While excelling on the court, Johnson also volunteered for cleanup at Greenhill Church, Biola Welcome Week move in, as a basketball camp counselor, a volunteer for Feed Brea, a local nonprofit sports club volunteer, and as a small group mentor to high school students.

Nakamura closed with, "Most important are the ways Aysia made a positive impact on her teammates, fellow students, and the Biola community overall. We value Aysia's influence during her time at Biola, and we know she will continue to represent the good Lord and Biola University with integrity and excellence wherever she goes!" 

Hayes and Johnson are Biola's fifth and sixth student-athletes to earn the distinction as school selections for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. Biola's previous nominees were women's tennis' Ines Diaz and women's golf's Sami Penor (2022), softball's Kayla Neff (2021) and women's soccer's Madyson Brown in 2020 which was Biola's first eligible year.