Softball Star is America East 'Woman of the Year;' All-America Scholar-Athletes for Lacrosse and Golf

America East Conference 'Woman of the Year' Kelly Barkevich. (Photos courtesy of UAlbany Great Dane Sports)

The coronavirus cut short the spring sports season for UAlbany athletes, but not so short that conference and national award judges did not recognize quality in athletic and academic performance and community engagement.

Softball first baseman Kelly Barkevich ’19, who in three years earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and will enter her second year in the master’s program in Special Education & Literacy in the fall, was named 2019-20 America East (AE) Conference Woman of the Year. The award honors AE’s top female senior student-athlete who has distinguished herself on and off the field.

Three Great Danes from two other sports received top scholar athlete honors. Senior attackman Jakob Patterson was named a Scholar All-American by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. The 2019 AE Offensive Player of the Year scored six goals and recorded 14 assists in five games this spring before the season was cut short. He finished his academic career with a 3.84 GPA, majoring in Sociology.

Two members of the women's golf team, senior Helga Einarsdottir and sophomore Madison Walker, earned All-American Scholar honors from the Women's Golf Coaches Association. To qualify for the award, golfers must have a GPA of 3.50 or over. Einarsdottir, a graduate in Accounting, and Walker, who is studying Environmental & Sustainable Engineering, both finished above 3.80.

Barkevich, UAlbany's second-straight Woman of the Year and fourth in history, said, "to be chosen out of so many amazing student-athletes that make our conference great leaves me completely speechless and humbled that UAlbany and the America East think so highly of me.

Golf All-American Scholars Helga Einarsdottir (left) and sophomore Madison Walker.

“Every day, I think about how lucky I am that I was able to attend and play softball at UAlbany . . . I can't thank Coach [Chris] Cannata and the entire coaching staff enough for believing in me and pushing that young, shy freshman out of her comfort zone every single day.”

A Thoroughly Involved Student Life

Barkevich’s list of accomplishments and activities is nearly staggering. A 2019 Presidential Scholar-Athlete, she won the AE’s 2019 Helping Hands award and 2020 Great Dane Leadership and Iron Dane awards.

Vice president of the UAlbany Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and a member of AE’s SAAC, Barkevich served in 2019-20 on the Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Board, was a member of the Presidential Honors Society and mentored in UAlbany's student-athlete wellness program, founded by 2018-19 AE Woman Athlete of the Year Tara Belinsky of Track & Field.

With SAAC, Barkevich helped organize and plan events in conjunction with the UAlbany athletic department and AE, such as the 2019 #SpreadRespect games and #BetterTogether games and 2020’s virtual #BetterTogether Week. She also coordinated the annual Danes Dodge Cancer dodgeball tournament and this year’s collection of goods from athletics programs for the annual America East Food Frenzy, which reached its goal of 20,000 cans.

Off campus, she coordinated such volunteer efforts as Ronald McDonald readings at local elementary schools, cooking breakfast for the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless, and Women’s Basketball’s annual Commitment to Education Day. Pursuing a career in elementary education, Barkevich worked as a teaching assistant in the South Colonie Central School District, spending six weeks during the summer in the special education half-day program.

Lacrosse Scholar All-American Jakob Patterson.

"I'm so proud of Kelly," Cannata said. "From the first day she stepped on campus here at UAlbany, she has unselfishly dedicated her time to serving others . . . She is everything you could ask for in a student-athlete and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach her."

"Throughout her outstanding career, Kelly has demonstrated and epitomized the attributes that we strive to instill in our student-athletes," said Director of Athletics Mark Benson, who noted the particular honor to the University in having the AE Woman of the year in consecutive seasons. It speaks, he said to “the special quality of the individuals who choose UAlbany to be their home during their college years."

Barkevich qualified for the 2019-20 AE award by earning her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2019 term. With her victory, she is nominated for NCAA’s Woman of the Year.

To read more on Barkevich’s career, see the athletic department story. For more on Patterson’s award, go here, and for more on Einarsdottir and Walker’s honors, here.