Kentucky Wildcats volleyball star Madison Lilley wins the SEC Female Athlete of the Year award.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced that Kentucky Wildcats volleyball star Madison Lilley won the 2020-21 Roy F. Kramer Female Athlete of the Year award. Lilley is now the first volleyball player to ever win the award in the conference’s history and Kentucky’s second-ever female athlete to win, joining gymnast and 1995 winner Jenny Hansen.
Lilley joins Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith as the 2020-21 SEC Athletes of the Year.
Past winners of the @SEC Roy Kramer Award are:
— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) July 7, 2021
✅ Peyton Manning
✅ Bridget Sloan
✅ Candace Parker
✅ Tim Tebow
And now ... MADISON LILLEY#WeAreUK | @mplilley03 https://t.co/tl0xngiYec
Kentucky’s Madison Lilley becomes first volleyball player to win SEC Female Athlete of the Year award
“Given the number of incredible athletes in our league, to be elected SEC Female Athlete of the Year is an elite honor,” said Kentucky Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart, via Kentucky Athletics’ official website. “What made Madison so special is that she is worthy of being chosen from both an individual and a team perspective. Individually, her record-setting performance on the court speaks for itself. In addition, the way she led her team — with unyielding commitment to make her teammates their very best and her indomitable will to win — makes her deserving of this distinction.”
This past season, Lilley helped lead the Wildcats program to their first-ever NCAA National Championship. In the National Championship Game, Lilley recorded a career-high 19 digs and 53 assists in the victory over the Texas Longhorns. As a result of her performance throughout the tournament, Lilley was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Besides the National Championship honors, Lilley was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA) National Player of the Year, Region Player of the Year and earned First Team All-American honors. Lilley is also the all-time leader in assists in program history with 3,704.
Lilley is now the eighth Kentucky player to earn SEC Athlete of the Year honors. The previous winners include A.J. Reed (2014), Anthony Davis (2012), Tim Couch (1999), Jenny Hansen (1995), Jamal Mashburn (1993), Kyle Macy (1980) and Jack Givens (1978).
Another trophy may be in Lilley’s future, as she is one of four finalists for the 2021 ESPY Award for Female College Athlete of the Year. The winner will be announced during the ceremony on July 10.
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