PORTLAND, Ore. – University of Portland women's basketball player Maddie Muhlheim has been selected as a nominee for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. She will now be a candidate to represent the West Coast Conference for the national award presented later this year.

For 32 years, the NCAA Woman of the Year program has celebrated female student-athletes who have excelled in athletics, in the classroom and in their communities. Each year, 30 total honorees across all three divisions in the NCAA – 10 for each division – are eventually selected by the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee. The committee whittles the honorees down to nine student-athletes – three from each division – before selecting a winner.

Muhlheim has excelled both athletically and academically during her time with the Pilots. Finishing her career this past season with the Pilots, Muhlheim ended her five years as the all-time leader in three-pointers made with 274. She also played more games than any Pilot with 143 appearances. The Portland native finished third in program history in minutes played (3,737), fourth in games started (108) and 11th in steals (197). She became the 30th Pilot to record 1,000 points for their career, doing so in Portland's 76-71 overtime win over the Santa Clara Broncos on Jan. 22.

Muhlheim was instrumental in resurrecting the women's basketball program as the team has reached postseason play each of the last three years, including winning the 2020 WCC Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament before a COVID shutdown.

Off the court, Muhlheim has been a top-flight student. She graduated in 2021 with an undergraduate degree in accounting with a 3.95 GPA. She graduated this spring with a master's degree in business administration, earning a 4.0 GPA. She was selected to the WCC All-Academic First Team four times in her career, which is the most of any Pilot in program history.

For the first time in the award's history, their will be an award ceremony to announce the winner at the NCAA Convention in January 2023. Stay tuned to PortlandPilots.com for more information.