INDIANAPOLIS – Fairfield University Women's Basketball standout Rachel Hakes has been selected by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for national consideration for NCAA Woman of the Year. Hakes is a two-time graduate of Fairfield University and recently concluded her Stags' career as a MAAC Champion and All-MAAC honoree.

The starting point guard for one of the best seasons in program history, Hakes helped lead the Stags to their first MAAC Championship since 1998 and first NCAA postseason appearance since 2001. As an All-MAAC Third Team honoree, she recorded career-highs in nearly every offensive category in her fourth and final campaign at Fairfield. Hakes led the MAAC and finished in the top-15 in the nation with 5.8 assists per game and a 2.53 assist-turnover ratio. Her 187 assists tied for the second most in Fairfield single season history.
 
Hakes was named to the MAAC All-Championship Team after helping the Stags win three games in four days in Atlantic City, N.J., to claim the conference title. She poured in a career-high 26 points while going 4-for-8 from long range in the MAAC Quarterfinal win over Iona.
 
Off the court, she was named to the Athletics Director Association (ADA) Scholar-Athlete Team and the MAAC All-Academic Team. She completed her undergraduate courses in just three years, finishing with a perfect 4.0 grade point average and was the recipient of the Fairfield University Bellarmine Medal, awarded to the undergraduate with the best GPA in the class. She would then complete her graduate degree in business during her fourth season with the Stags, also earning a 4.0 GPA. Hakes was named the Fairfield University Alumni Association Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in both 2021 and 2022.

Hakes will advance to the national stage of the NCAA Woman of the Year selection process. A total of 10 student-athletes apiece from Division I, Division II and Division III will be unveiled in October, with the three finalists from each division released in November. The 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the NCAA Convention in January.