Colonia, N.J. - St. Thomas Aquinas College softball graduate Eliana Raposo (Wareham, Mass.) has been put forward as one of two East Coast Conference nominees for the 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Woman of the Year Award. Raposo joins Jenalyse Alarcon of the College of Staten Island Women's Basketball as the two conference student-athletes to be nominated for the honor.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
“The ECC nominees for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Award reflect not just their athletic talents, but their leadership, character, and commitment to excellence in all areas of life," said Commissioner Jessica Grasso. "Both Jenalyse and Eliana are powerful examples of what it means to lead with purpose, achieve with integrity, and inspire through actions. I am proud and honored to put forward these two remarkable student-athletes for the ECC.”
Raposo graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas in three years with a degree in mathematics with a concentration in actuarial science and a minor in economics. Finishing with a 3.87 GPA, one of Raposo’s finest academic accomplishments was her participation in the College Fed Challenge; she worked with five other STAC student-athletes to create and deliver a presentation to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in which she analyzed the economy and created a policy recommendation. Raposo also served as a tutor for a number of her peers and, for her efforts both on the field and in the classroom, was selected as the 2025 ECC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“It is an honor to be selected as an ECC representative for the NCAA Woman of the Year,” said Raposo. “My time as a member of STAC Softball and the ECC has been nothing short of incredible, and I am beyond grateful for the countless experiences and opportunities that I have been lucky enough to have that have helped me to grow in the classroom, on the field, in the community, and, most importantly, as a person.”
On the field, Raposo repeated as the ECC Player of the Year this spring after batting a conference-leading .408 while also topping the ECC in slugging percentage (.741), hits (60), runs scored (48), and home runs (12). The STAC junior centerfielder also ranked second in runs batted in (42), fourth in stolen bases (17), and fifth in doubles (13). In conference play only, Raposo slugged at a clip of .723 and boasted a .354 batting average with an ECC-leading seven home runs and 23 runs scored to go with 24 runs batted in and 23 hits. Raposo also sported an unblemished 1.000 fielding percentage, making 69 putouts and six assists without an error in centerfield heading into the postseason.
For her career, Raposo was a 2024 NFCA Division II Softball All-American, two-time NFCA and D2CCA All-East Region selection, two-time ECC Player of the Year, and two-time All-ECC First Teamer. She led STAC to the program’s first two ECC Championship titles while holding program records for single-season RBI, runs scored, and home runs as well as career RBI and runs scored.
Volunteering has been a meaningful part of Raposo’s college journey. She volunteered as an assistant coach with South Coast StingRays AAU Baseball for four years, with instruction on conditioning, hitting, and fielding. Entering that role as a high school sophomore, Raposo quickly became a supportive older sister figure to the boys, offering guidance not just in baseball, but in academics and personal challenges. As she shared her own experiences and helped build their confidence and resilience, Raposo watched them grow as players and individuals and taught her the power of mentorship.
Through the STAC softball program, Raposo also served as a volunteer for Touching Bases, a softball league for adults with disabilities. She also served on STAC’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Raposo credits these diverse volunteer opportunities for allowing her to experience life from a broader perspective.
The NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee, composed of representatives from the NCAA membership, will next choose the top 30 honorees - 10 from each division - to be announced in Fall of 2025. The field will be further narrowed with the announcement of nine finalists (three from each division). The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year, to be named at January's NCAA Convention.
A pair of ECC student-athletes have advanced to the top nine in the conference’s storied history - LIU Post women's lacrosse standouts Bridgett Soares in 2013 and Jackie Sileo in 2024. Molloy softball's Tracey Balinskas and Daemen women's basketball's Katie Titus advanced to the top 30 in 2016 and 2022, respectively.