Savannah Brennan Named NCAA Top 30 Women of the Year Honoree

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Alumna Savannah Brennan has been named a Top 30 honoree for the 2022 NCAA Women of the Year Award. Brennan, a First Team All-American swimmer, is the first Florida Tech scholar-athlete to be honored as a Top 30 selection.

Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.

Starting with 577 school nominees, the group was narrowed to 156 nominees at the conference level. From that pool, the Top 30 honorees were chosen and include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees represent 14 sports and include nine multi-sport student-athletes. They have a variety of majors, including biological and biomedical engineering, psychology, business, digital communications, education, nursing, law and policy and robotics.

“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we recognize the impact of women on college sports and are honored to select 30 incredible student-athletes who have played instrumental roles on their campus, in their community and on their teams,” said Renie Shields, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Saint Joseph’s University. “This accomplished and diverse group of women represent the millions of student-athletes who have participated in the strong history of women’s sports.”

The Oviedo, Florida native, became the first three-time winner of the Sunshine State Conference’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. She earned the distinction after receiving First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.

Brennan was also tabbed Second Team Academic All-America in 2020-21 after completing a double major in genomics and molecular genetics and biomedical science with a 3.97-grade point average. Now pursuing a master’s degree in biotechnology at Florida Tech, she has earned every CSCAA Scholar All-American, SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List award she has been eligible for during her career. 

“This award caps off an amazing career of firsts for Savannah,” said head coach David Dent. “During her illustrious career, Savannah was the first female to score any points at NCAA’s, the first female All-American, the first female swimmer to win the SSC Scholar-Athlete of the year award, the first athlete to win the SSC Scholar athlete award 3 times in a row, the first Florida Tech scholar-athlete to win the SSC Woman of the year nominee, and now she is the first Florida Tech scholar-athlete to be named in the Top 30 for the NCAA Woman of the Year. Savannah has garnered an impressive number of accomplishments during her career, no one is more deserving. She worked harder than anyone day in and day out to accomplish everything she did. We are extremely happy and excited for her and her future.”

In the pool, Brennan earned three CSCAA All-America honors in 2021-22 for her performances in the 400 Individual Medley, 1000 Free, and 500 Free at the NCAA Division II championship. She placed ninth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:18.40 and 10th in the 500 Free with a time of 4:54.56. Her best finish came in the 1000 Free, where she finished fifth at 10:04.04. All three marks stand as Florida Tech records. Brennan holds six Panther records in individual events and four relay records with her teammates.

“We are very proud of Savannah for this outstanding honor,” said Director of Athletics Jamie Joss. “The teamwork, leadership and intelligence she displayed during her time at Florida Tech epitomized the goals we set for our scholar-athletes. We congratulate Savannah for this top NCAA recognition, and we are confident she will continue to reach great heights throughout her career.”

On campus, Brennan was a four-year member of the TriBeta biological honors society, serving as chapter president. She also served as secretary for the Florida Tech chapter of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In 2020, Brennan volunteered in the emergency department of Health First Holmes Regional Medical Center to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was a two-year volunteer with Team IMPACT, which matches children facing chronic illnesses with collegiate sports teams.

The selection committee will select three honorees from each NCAA division for a total of nine finalists. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will choose the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.

For the first time in the award’s history, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named and the Top 30 will be celebrated at the NCAA Convention, which will be held in January in San Antonio, Texas.

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