ALLENDALE, Mich.--  Former Grand Valley State women's soccer player Clare Carlson has been selected as a nominee for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year, per a national release from the NCAA on Tuesday. Carlson finished her playing career for the Lakers in the fall and is now one of a record-high 543 nominees for the award, which selects nominees from all three divisions of play.

Now in its 27th year of operation, the award seeks to recognize graduating female college athletes who have finished their playing careers and were model student-athletes throughout their careers. 229 nominees came from Division I, 117 from Division II and 197 from Division III. The next step in the process will see each conference select up to two conference nominees out of the large pool of nominees, which will be further pared down by the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee to the top 30 honorees -- 10 from each division. 

Out of that pool of 30 nominees, the committee with then select the top three from each division, with the NCAA committee on Women's Athletics choosing the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine athletes. The top 30 honorees will be recognized along with the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year at the annual award ceremony in Indianapolis on October 22nd. 

Carlson has joined a distinguished list of defensive stars among the ranks of former Laker soccer players, and earned plenty of recognition both on and off the field during her playing days. A two-time NSCAA and D2CCA All-American and a 2016 HERO Sports All-American, Carlson was a defensive anchor for the Lakers in the past two season after rising from a reserve to a full-time starter. Her tenacious defense and added versatility on the attack as a back earned her GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in both her junior and senior season, and she was a consensus All-GLIAC First Team selection both years as well. Equally as impressive as her on the field accolades was her academic success, as Carlson was a two-time NSCAA Scholar All-American, a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, and was twice awarded the Fall GLIAC Commissioner's Award (2015 & 2016). A biomedical sciences major, Carlson carried a cumulative GPA north of 3.9 in each of the past two seasons. 

As a result of her tireless dedication to her teammates on the field, Carlson was a three-time NCAA Division II National Champion with the Lakers, owned a 92-5-5 record during her four year career, and appeared in 88 games, making 63 starts. 

As a group, the NCAA Woman of the Year nominees carry a 3.69 average GPA, and consist of 122 multi-sport athletes. Outdoor track and field (100) and indoor track and field (87) had the most nominees selected, followed by soccer (84), women's basketball (78) and volleyball (76).