David Carley

Heis named NCAC’s Pam Smith Award recipient

8/5/2026 2:00:00 PM

CLEVELAND, OH -- The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) announced today that recent Kenyon College graduate Brooke Heis was selected as the recipient of the conference's 2026 Pam Smith Woman of the Year Award.

A dual-sport student-athlete, Heis excelled both on the soccer pitch and in the diving well during her Kenyon career. She is the ninth Kenyon student-athlete to receive the honor since the award launched at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season. Kenyon's last recipient was Emmie Mirus, who earned the award in 2022.

As a defender for the Owls soccer program, Heis earned first-team All-NCAC honors in 2025 after receiving third-team recognition in 2024. She was also named to the 2025 NCAC All-Tournament Team, Second-Team All-Ohio and Fourth-Team All-Region VII.

Heis served as a three-year captain for the Owls soccer team and helped lead Kenyon to the 2022 NCAC Championship and then through an impressive 2025 campaign that established program records for fewest goals allowed in a season (9), lowest goals-against average (0.50), and the single-season shutout mark (11).

As a diver, Heis contributed by scoring points in conference meets and helping the Kenyon team capture three consecutive NCAC team championships from 2024-26. Along the way, she qualified for the 2024 NCAA Division III regional diving championships.

An outstanding student, Heis graduated with a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average as a biochemistry major and was selected as Kenyon's 2026 Class Valedictorian. She graduated summa cum laude and earned distinction for her senior thesis: Analysis of Optimization Strategies and Evaluation Discrepancies of Niclosamide as Treatment for COVID-19.

Heis received the 2026 American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Organic Chemistry, the Barbara H. Reitsma Award for excellence in peer tutoring, and the 2026 NCAC Scholar-Athlete Award. Her combination of success within Athletics and in her studies led to many awards, including her being named a First-Team Academic All-Ohio selection, as well as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and All-American honoree. She was inducted into both Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi, the international scientific research honor society.

Heis is an eight-time member of the Kenyon Merit List and three-time NCAC Dr. Gordon Collins Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll honoree.

Her research experience included faculty-mentored projects at both Kenyon and The Ohio State University, where she investigated novel compounds with potential anticancer and anti-inflammatory applications while mentoring younger student researchers.

Heis demonstrated exceptional leadership through service across campus and in the community. She served in numerous leadership roles on Kenyon's Student Council over four years while representing students on the Wellness and Safety Committee and previously leading the College's Title IX Committee initiatives. As coordinator of Kenyon's STEM Mentoring Program and lead organic chemistry tutor, she fostered collaborative learning environments while connecting students with academic resources and professional development opportunities.

Her commitment to healthcare spilled into volunteer roles at Clinica Latina, where she managed laboratory operations, as well as at Knox Community Hospital emergency department.

Heis also volunteered with Wiggin Street Elementary, along with promoting and organizing engagement with Morgan's Message, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and Samaritan's Operation Christmas Child programming.

The NCAC Woman of the Year Award commemorates former Wittenberg women's basketball Head Coach and Associate Director of Athletics Pam Evans Smith, who had a profound impact upon the athletes she coached and the students she taught over an illustrious career that spanned more than two decades.

Heis will now move on to represent the NCAC as the conference's nominee for the NCAA Division III Commissioners Association Female Sport Student Athlete of the Year.

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