Abby McCulloh Named Top 30 Honoree for NCAA Woman of the Year
INDIANAPOLIS – Recent University of Georgia swimmer Abby McCulloh has been named one of the national Top 30 honorees for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, as announced by the award’s selection committee Wednesday afternoon.
McCulloh was previously nominated by the University of Georgia as she advanced to the Top 30. 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.
Four Georgia student-athletes have won the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, including three swimmers: Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000), and Kim Black (2001). Most recently, track and field athlete Keturah Orji was honored in 2018.
McCulloh is the 18th Georgia swimmer to be nominated by the university and the 16th Bulldog overall to advance to the Top 30. Georgia is the only school nationally to have produced a top 30 finalist in each of the past four years: cross country/track athlete Samantha Drop (2022), swimmer Callie Dickinson (2023), and equestrian Caitlin Lyons (2024).
The Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the NCAA’s three divisions. The Woman of the Year selection committee will select the winner from the pool of 30 finalists, with the official announcement scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 5. The winner will be invited to participate in an awards presentation at the NCAA Convention this January in National Harbor, Maryland.
McCulloh accumulated a wealth of athletic and academic accolades during her four seasons in Athens prior to graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in May. In the water, McCulloh qualified for the NCAA Championships each season and accumulated seven CSCAA All-America citations, including four First Team honors. She won the 2024 SEC and NCAA championships in the 1,650-yard freestyle, clinching the national title at Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium to become Georgia’s first individual female national champion in eight years.
McCulloh also earned an SEC silver medal in the 1,650y free (2025) and bronze medals in the 500y free (2024) and 1,650y free (2022). She had two placements on the All-SEC Team and a spot on the 2022 SEC All-Freshman Team. She left the program ranked second all-time in the 1,000y and 1,650y freestyle. In June 2024, she also finished 10th in the 800-meter freestyle, 11th in the 1,500m freestyle and 15th in the 400m freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
In the academic realm, McCulloh received the SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in April and was twice named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team (first team – 2024, second team – 2025). She was also placed on three CSC Academic All-District and was a two-time SEC Women’s Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In fall 2024, she was bestowed with the Joel Eaves Scholar-Athlete Award for the UGA female senior student-athlete with the highest GPA entering the school year and served as the female student-athlete representative to the UGA Athletic Association Board of Directors.
McCulloh was named to three CSCAA Scholar All-America First Teams, three SEC Academic Honor Rolls, and the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll in every semester. In January, she received the Keith Jackson Rose Bowl Game Postgraduate Scholarship and participated in a specialized work-study program at the Ohio State-Oregon College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Additionally, she was inducted this spring into the University of Georgia Chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society.
McCulloh also served a valuable role in the UGA and Athens communities, earning a spot on this year’s SEC Swimming & Diving Community Service Team and a nomination for the Allstate/NACDA Winter Good Works Team. Among numerous community service efforts, she worked with Athens Church, serving as a guest services volunteer and welcoming attendees to the church. She assisted with children involved in ESP and Special Olympics, helping to organize their annual baseball game and prom. With Swim Across America, she fundraised for childhood cancer research and served on the organization’s college advisory board. Through Hilinski’s Hope, she produced and filmed a video to support the foundation’s efforts to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness. In the Athens area, she aided with trash and invasive plant species removal on MLK Day of Service, delivered Christmas cards to local seniors at Presbyterian Village, and organized books for Books for Keeps.
McCulloh was previously nominated by the University of Georgia as she advanced to the Top 30. 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.
Four Georgia student-athletes have won the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, including three swimmers: Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000), and Kim Black (2001). Most recently, track and field athlete Keturah Orji was honored in 2018.
McCulloh is the 18th Georgia swimmer to be nominated by the university and the 16th Bulldog overall to advance to the Top 30. Georgia is the only school nationally to have produced a top 30 finalist in each of the past four years: cross country/track athlete Samantha Drop (2022), swimmer Callie Dickinson (2023), and equestrian Caitlin Lyons (2024).
The Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the NCAA’s three divisions. The Woman of the Year selection committee will select the winner from the pool of 30 finalists, with the official announcement scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 5. The winner will be invited to participate in an awards presentation at the NCAA Convention this January in National Harbor, Maryland.
McCulloh accumulated a wealth of athletic and academic accolades during her four seasons in Athens prior to graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in May. In the water, McCulloh qualified for the NCAA Championships each season and accumulated seven CSCAA All-America citations, including four First Team honors. She won the 2024 SEC and NCAA championships in the 1,650-yard freestyle, clinching the national title at Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium to become Georgia’s first individual female national champion in eight years.
McCulloh also earned an SEC silver medal in the 1,650y free (2025) and bronze medals in the 500y free (2024) and 1,650y free (2022). She had two placements on the All-SEC Team and a spot on the 2022 SEC All-Freshman Team. She left the program ranked second all-time in the 1,000y and 1,650y freestyle. In June 2024, she also finished 10th in the 800-meter freestyle, 11th in the 1,500m freestyle and 15th in the 400m freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
In the academic realm, McCulloh received the SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in April and was twice named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team (first team – 2024, second team – 2025). She was also placed on three CSC Academic All-District and was a two-time SEC Women’s Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In fall 2024, she was bestowed with the Joel Eaves Scholar-Athlete Award for the UGA female senior student-athlete with the highest GPA entering the school year and served as the female student-athlete representative to the UGA Athletic Association Board of Directors.
McCulloh was named to three CSCAA Scholar All-America First Teams, three SEC Academic Honor Rolls, and the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll in every semester. In January, she received the Keith Jackson Rose Bowl Game Postgraduate Scholarship and participated in a specialized work-study program at the Ohio State-Oregon College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Additionally, she was inducted this spring into the University of Georgia Chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society.
McCulloh also served a valuable role in the UGA and Athens communities, earning a spot on this year’s SEC Swimming & Diving Community Service Team and a nomination for the Allstate/NACDA Winter Good Works Team. Among numerous community service efforts, she worked with Athens Church, serving as a guest services volunteer and welcoming attendees to the church. She assisted with children involved in ESP and Special Olympics, helping to organize their annual baseball game and prom. With Swim Across America, she fundraised for childhood cancer research and served on the organization’s college advisory board. Through Hilinski’s Hope, she produced and filmed a video to support the foundation’s efforts to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness. In the Athens area, she aided with trash and invasive plant species removal on MLK Day of Service, delivered Christmas cards to local seniors at Presbyterian Village, and organized books for Books for Keeps.
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