Softball | 8/16/2021 11:42:44 AM
Emily Trotman of St. John Fisher College and
Elena Ceja of Alfred University will represent the Empire 8 Conference as nominees for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Established in 1991, this award honors a senior female student-athlete who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Trotman and Ceja are among 153 conference-level nominees for the national award. The nominees represent student-athletes from 18 different sports spanning all three NCAA divisions. Of those nominated, 57 nominees competed in Division I, 36 in Division II and 60 in Division III.Both excelled on the softball diamond for their institutions during their collegiate careers.
Emily Trotman
Trotman wrapped up a stellar four-year career on the diamond by earning 2021 National Fast Pitch Coaches Association Second Team All-American honors. She was named the 2021 Empire 8 Player of the Year and earned All-NFCA Northeast Region first team plaudits. Trotman helped lead St. John Fisher to a 31-7 record, including a 19-1 mark in E8 league play, while the Cardinals advanced to the championship game of the Penn State Behrend NCAA Regional.
Trotman, who played in all 38 games for the Cardinals, finished with a .445 batting average and 1.236 OPS with 15 doubles, eight home runs and 33 RBI at the plate. She had 57 hits, 37 runs scored and 96 total bases, recording a .750 slugging percentage. Trotman also excelled in the pitcher’s circle, finishing 15-3 with a 1.55 earned run average, 13 complete games and six shutouts over 108.2 innings.
A native of East Amherst, N.Y., Trotman recently earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. John Fisher, while carrying a tremendous 3.80 grade-point average. She was a two-time NFCA Scholar Athlete and was a seven-time member of the Empire 8 President's List for student-athletes with GPAs of 3.75 and an eight-time Dean’s List recipient at Fisher. Trotman also earned Beta Gamma Sigma honors.
Trotman finished her St. John Fisher career with a .380 batting average (150-for-395), 100 runs scored, 30 doubles, 23 home runs and 80 runs batted in. Trotman was 43-18 in the pitching circle with 39 complete games and 13 shutouts in 381.1 innings. She was a three-time All-Empire 8 and three-time NFCA All-Region selection. The Cardinals won a pair of Empire 8 Championships and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. Overall, St. John Fisher compiled a 100-37 record in Trotman’s four seasons.
Outside of the classroom, Trotman served as vice chair and chair of the Teddi Dance for Love, which is the largest and longest running student fundraiser at St. John Fisher. Trotman’s effort, initiative, and creativity led to a completely reimagined Teddi Dance in 2021, resulting in the highest total of funds (over $130,000) raised in the history of the event.
In addition, Trotman’s commitment to serving others was recognized with the awarding of a Fisher Service Scholarship, a role that has enabled her to serve the Rochester community at the Urban Choice Charter School, Ronald McDonald House, and Camp Good Days & Special Times, among others. Trotman was honored with St. John Fisher’s 2021 Community Engagement Award.
Trotman began her collegiate softball career by enjoying an excellent freshman season in 2018, batting .339 to go along with four home runs and 29 runs batted in, while stealing 10 bases on her way to earning All-Empire 8 second team and NFCA All-Region third team accolades. The following season, Trotman emerged as a standout on the mound, going 23-11 with 23 complete games and seven shutouts. She also hit .324 with a homer and 13 RBI, garnering All-Empire 8 and NFCA All-Region accolades. Trotman was off to a hot start in 2020, hitting .457 in 10 games with a 1.278 OPS and was 4-2 on the mound before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trotman became the fifth student-athlete in Empire 8 history to be named both the Woman of the Year and the Female Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, which she earned on June 14.
Elena Ceja
Ceja enjoyed a tremendous final season for the Saxons in 2021, earning All-Empire 8 second team honors, while helping lead her team to the 2021 Empire 8 Championship. Alfred finished the season 32-11 overall and advanced to the NCAA Regional Championship in Eau Claire, Wisc.
Ceja, who played in all 43 games for the Saxons in 2021 after being granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA, finished with a .353 batting average and .920 OPS with 42 hits, 18 runs scored, seven doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI at the plate, all career-highs.
A native of Garden Grove, Calif., Ceja earned her bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Alfred, while carrying a tremendous 3.54 grade-point average. She also obtained a master’s degree in business administration with a stellar 3.84 GPA. Ceja was a 2019 NFCA Scholar Athlete and was a seven-time member of the Dean’s List at Alfred. Ceja also was a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society and wrapped her collegiate career by earning Empire 8 President’s List honors in Spring 2021.
Outside of the classroom, Ceja served on Alfred’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for four seasons and was part of the Executive Board in 2020-21 as Treasurer. She was a part of Alfred’s Athletic Training Club and was a YMCA Parent’s Night Out Volunteer.
In five seasons with the Saxons, Ceja hit .265 with 106 hits, 50 runs scored, 25 doubles, nine home runs and 70 runs batted in over 155 total games. She was on her way to a big season in 2020 with two homers and seven RBI in 12 games before the season was ended due to COVID-19.
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in September. The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced this fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year.
For more information on the NCAA Woman of the Year,
CLICK HERE.
Past E8 Woman of the Year
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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