For Immediate Release
Thursday, April 25, 2024
NSIC Media Relations

SMITHVILLE, Mo.  – Augustana's Molly Stevens was voted by the league coaches as the NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year in women's golf. A native of Northfield, Minnesota, Stevens is a fifth-year senior pursuing a master’s in business administration after receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics & computer information systems, while holding a 3.97 cumulative grade point average. 

The “NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year Award” is presented to a NSIC Women's Golf student-athlete who participates at their institution for four years and is academically superior while making a positive contribution to their team and the University. The NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year award was initiated in 2020-21 to honor an outstanding senior that exemplifies the attributes of the model NSIC student-athlete.

In the classroom, Stevens has been honored multiple times on the NSIC All-Academic Team as well as the WGCA All-Scholar Team and the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. She is a 2023 NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award recipient and took part in the Beacom Research Fellow at Augustana University, which partners with local community-improvement organizations to complete collaborative research projects.

On the course, Stevens is the two-time reigning NSIC Player of the Year and a three-time All-NSIC first team selection.  In 2023 she helped Augustana to a 16th place finish at the NCAA Championships, where she tied for 47th. She has helped lead Augustana to three straight NSIC Women's Golf Championships. Last season she tied for second at the NSIC Championships as has finished in the top 10 in each of the past three seasons. She earned NSIC Golfer of the week honors three times this season and 11 times during her career. 

When not on the course or in the classroom, Stevens has been exceptional to assist with Augustana University's other sports (basketball, acrobatics and tumbling, soccer, football) in scanning tickets, being a floor sweeper, or whatever is needed for that respective sport.  She was an admission's student ambassador as she gave tours of the campus to prospective students and their parents looking at Augustana and also volunteered as a Pediatric Companion. 

"Molly has been a leader on our team all her years playing. She is organized, understands time management and knows how to motivate a team. She has been "outstanding" for all her team and her coaches. This award would be the culmination for a student-athlete that has been in the sport for all the right reasons...to grow and compete. I look forward to Molly's future," said Head Coach Coralee Jorgensen.

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 15-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 113 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes have the opportunity to earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.