June 27, 2017
SAN DIEGO - Recent San Diego State women's water polo graduate Alyssa Diacono is a nominee for the 2017 NCAA Women of the Year Award, the NCAA announced today.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Diacono is one of a program-record 544 nominees and one of 229 Division I student-athletes. Collectively, the average grade-point average is 3.69. At the water polo level, Diacono is one of four water polo players up for the award, three of which participate in Division I.
Hailing from Ladera Ranch, Diacono wrapped up a four-year playing career that saw her earn all-Golden Coast Conference honors three times and All-America accolades twice, all while helping SDSU win five GCC titles (four regular season, one tournament) and reach the 2016 NCAA tournament.
In her time at San Diego State, Diacono became one of the all-time great centers in program history, drawing 292 ejections in her career to rank second all-time. Her excellence in the pool was duplicated in the classroom as she was a four-time ACWPC All-Academic Outstanding Team member to become the first Aztec to accomplish an Outstanding four-peat. To earn Outstanding Team recognition, a player needs to have a GPA between 4.00-3.71.
Following her graduation, Diacono was selected to attend the NCAA Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana. While in the Midwest, Diacono heard from various keynote speakers and panelists, learned the best practices for gaining employment in athletics and gathered a better understanding of what future expectations will be once obtaining a job in sports.
Diacono, the 2016 SDSU Student-Athlete of the Year, who played in 135 of a possible 136 games, totaled in her career 158 goals on 46.5 percent shooting, 23 assists, 90 steals and the aforementioned 292 ejections drawn.