NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference has nominated Simone Timm (Georgia Southern women’s soccer) and Abby Herring (Marshall cross country and track & field) for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. 
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year award was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletic excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female student-athletes. 
 
“Simone and Abby are All-Sun Belt student-athletes who have balanced rigorous schedules training for their sports and their chosen professions, while also serving their local communities. We’re thrilled to nominate these model Sun Belt student-athletes for this prestigious honor,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. 
 
Timm and Herring will be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. It will choose the Top 30 honorees—10 from each division—and then select the nine finalists—three from each division—from those Top 30 honorees, before naming the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year this fall.
 
Timm paced Georgia Southern with 21 points—on eight goals and five assists—in 2023, as the Eagles tallied a 12-6-1 record. The 12 wins were the third-most in program history, trailing only the 1996 (13-8) and 2000 (14-5) Georgia Southern clubs. The Toronto, Ontario, Canada, native was an All-Sun Belt First Team honoree in 2023, while earning CSC Academic All-District recognition in 2022 and 2023. Timm was a two-time Sun Belt Commissioner’s List honoree (2020-21 and 2021-22) and a one-time Sun Belt Academic Honor Roll recipient (2022-23). 
 
Timm graduated from Georgia Southern with a degree in nursing, maintaining a 4.00 GPA while balancing a rigorous academic and collegiate athletic schedule. In addition to completing over 300 hours of clinical training toward her nursing degree—ranging from adult intensive care to emergency room to hospice—Timm volunteered at the Statesboro Family YMCA Heart Run, Statesboro First United Methodist Church and The Lodge at Bethany during her time in Statesboro. 
 
Herring became the first woman in Marshall cross country history to qualify for the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championship in 2023, capping a career that included seven All-Conference nods across three sports. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native was an All-Sun Belt First Team honoree in cross country in 2022 and 2023, while earning Second Team (2021) and Third Team (2020) nods from Conference USA. Herring also earned All-Sun Belt First Team recognition in indoor & outdoor track & field in the 5K in 2024 and was a Sun Belt Commissioner’s List (2022-23), Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22) and Conference USA Academic Medal (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22) recipient. 
 
Herring graduated from Marshall with a degree in elementary education, maintaining a 3.81 GPA while competing in three sports. In addition to completing over 750 hours of student teaching toward her elementary education degree, Herring volunteered with the Marshall University HELP Program, River Valley Child Development Services and Country Roads Running Camp during her time in Huntington.