The following is a spotlight on Sydney Barnett, Loyola University Chicago’s nominee for the prestigious NCAA ​Woman of the Year award. The Atlantic 10 institutions nominated a total of 17 outstanding student-athletes for ​the award (READ MORE). The A-10 will spotlight each of the institutional nominees.

Sydney Barnett Profile

Sydney Barnett was named the 2024 Atlantic 10 Player

of the Year after standing second in the league in

batting average (.400), first in slugging percentage

(.857), tied fifth in RBI (24), second in home runs (8),

and tied third in walks (20) in conference play. The

Pontiac, Ill., native set the Loyola Chicago softball

record for single season home runs with 14 and had

the second-most RBI of all-time with 53. A 2024 NFCA

Mid-Atlantic All-Region Second Team honoree, Barnett ​finished her career with a .293 batting average, .384 on

base percentage and .514 slugging percentage.

Barnett was named a 2024 Atlantic 10 All-Academic

honoree, a 2024 College Sports Communicators

Academic All-District selection and a NFCA Scholar

Athlete. A sports management & marketing major,

Barnett graduated Loyola Chicago this spring with over

a 3.7 GPA.

In the community, Barnett worked for the Livingston

County Humane Society, made holiday gift baskets for ​veterans around Christmas time and worked with By the

Hand Softball programming, providing resources and ​experiences to underserved communities throughout

Chicago through softball. Barnett also worked

one-on-one with several girls to help with their

hitting on a weekly basis.

Q & A

What would you consider the top moment of your college career?

The best moment of my career was when I was named A-10 Player of ​the Year. Never in my dreams would I have imagined to earn such an ​incredible honor. It has been such a great feeling to know that all of my ​hard work paid off.

What was the hardest obstacle you faced as a student-athlete?

The hardest obstacle I faced as a student-athlete was when I started ​college in 2020 in the height of COVID. We were isolated in our dorms ​and separated into “practice bubbles”. So, the first semester of my ​college, I only knew 8 people in total. This was extremely stressful and ​took a huge toll on my mental health. In retrospect, I feel like it prepared ​me more for college. I had to learn how to cook, do chores, and find a ​balance between classes and sports.

Who or what has been your biggest inspiration or motivation?

My biggest inspiration throughout my career at Loyola has been to ​continuously make others around me better. We joined the A-10 before ​my junior year, and it felt like we were building the program from the ​start. This encouraged me to step up and lead my team to be the best ​we could be, and in one year we were already in the championship. My ​teammates have always inspired me to not only become the best person ​and player I can be, but to also lift others around me.

What was your favorite class/professor and why?

My favorite class was my Sports Marketing class because we had the ​opportunity to do a marketing plan on whatever we wanted to. I chose ​to work on the Women’s College World Series and improve their ​marketing strategies to bring more fans and viewers to the game. I ​loved being able to work on a project that I care about and was ​awesome being able to learn how to bring in viewers to women’s sports.

What is something you wish more people knew about you?

I wish more people knew that I love to paint and draw. I have created art ​my whole life but was a little too busy while I was in college to continue. ​Now that I have graduated, I am excited to start back up again.

What are the top three things on your bucket list?

The top three things on my bucket list are:

- Visit every Disney park in the world

- Play professional softball

- Buy a house

What do you think is the most important issue for student-athletes ​today?

I think one of the main issues facing student-athletes is dealing with ​mental health. I have learned that being an exceptional student and ​athlete is very mentally demanding, let alone having to deal with any ​other issues in your personal life. It is crucial for schools to supply ​student-athletes with all the resources necessary to help build strong ​support systems.