UH Hilo softball player Brinell "Mae" Kaleikini won numerous awards during her four years in a Vulcan uniform, but may have received her highest accolade as her last career chapter is written.

Kaleikini is Hawai`i Hilo's nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year in 2020. Universities from across the country can nominate one graduating female from any of their programs. Oahu native Kaleikini was nominated by UHH's Compliance Officer and Senior Woman Administrator Roxanne Levenson. 

Rooted in Title IX and directed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three NCAA divisions. In 2020, nearly 220,000 women competed in college sports, and the NCAA received a program record of 605 nominations for this prestigious award.

"Brinell is a great representative of Hawai`i Hilo and female student-athletes everywhere," Levenson said. "It is a tremendous honor to be nominated, and Brinell is being recognized among a select group of outstanding student-athletes. She excelled in all three categories--academically, athletically, and in service and leadership during her four years as a Vulcan and is most deserving of this nomination."  

Kaleikini was a four-year starter for the Vulcans.  She was the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year in 2019, and leaves the Vulcan program with her name on a number of career lists despite only being able to play a small part of her senior season because of COVID-19.  She is first in times hit by a pitch (26), fifth in walks (80), seventh in slugging percentage (.485), eighth in home runs (16) and eighth in RBI (92). She played almost every position on the field for the Vulcans and was named to two different all-west region teams as a utility player and was twice named to PacWest all-star teams. She started 162 games in her Vulcan career, which included all games in her shortened senior season (21). 

The Vulcan team was 99-64 during Kaleikini's four years with a 66-38 record in the Pacific West Conference. UH Hilo just missed the NCAA playoffs in 2018 and 2019, and were headed in a postseason direction in 2020 when the season suddenly ended in mid-March.

"Mae was an outstanding asset to our softball program over her four years here," said Vulcan softball coach Callen Perreira. "She was an excellent student-athlete. She took on a team leadership role and had an outstanding career, playing eight different positions for us."

Off the field, she was involved in a number of service activities, including the Dr. Seuss Read Across American Day (four years), the Make a Difference Day (four years), volunteer summer coaching, Kaumana Elementary School Makahiki Season Event, UH Hilo Softball Camp (three years), Cop-on-Top (three years), Halloween Family Game Night (three years), Merrie Monarch Festival, Vulcan Fan Fest, Book Fair, Queens Festival Field Day, and the Matson Zoo Cleanup. 

Kaleikini graduated this past spring with a degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science major, while also earning an Educational Studies certificate. She had a 3.30 grade point average and was on the Dean's List at UHH for three semesters. She was a four-time Pacific West Conference Scholar-Athlete; three times a UH Hilo Athletics Scholar-Athlete; and was on the AD's Honor Roll eight semesters.  

Seven women in the PacWest Conference have been nominated, among 126 across NCAA Division II. Next, the PacWest will announce its nominee in August, and the entire list of 605 will be shaved down to 30, ten per each NCAA division. From that group, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be chosen and announced next Fall. (For more information about the award, click here. https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/events/ncaa-woman-year).