FSU Senior Mary Kate O’Day Named 2020 MASCAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

FSU Senior Mary Kate O’Day Named 2020 MASCAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

May 20, 2020

Reigning Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Basketball Player of the Year, senior guard Mary Kate O'Day (Berlin, Mass.) has been selected the 2020 MASCAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year as selected by the conference's eight Directors of Athletics.

O'Day closed out her career with the Rams earning a number of accolades for her athletic accomplishments. O'Day is a two-time MASCAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year earning the honor after the 2019-2020 season as a senior and previously in 2017-2018 after her sophomore campaign. She has been selected to the All-MASCAC First Team three times during her four seasons with the Rams.

O'Day's athletic honors extend beyond the league as she was named twice to the D3hoops.com All-Region Team including as a second team selection after her senior season. She was also selected two times to the NEWBA All-Region Team including as a first team selection in 2019-20.

O'Day leaves the program second on the FSU All-Time Women's Basketball Scoring list with 1,557 career points including 502 during her final season for the Rams. O'Day concluded the 2019-20 season leading the team averaging 17.9 points per game and shooting 45% from the floor including 41% from behind the three-point arc. She averaged 32 minutes per game and grabbed 8.5 rebounds with 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals a contest.

O'Day helped lead the 2019-2020 Rams to a school record 22 victories and a perfect 12-0 mark in league play which included the programs first MASCAC Regular Season and Tournament Titles as well as the team's first appearance in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.

O'Day success extends beyond the hardcourt to the classroom where her list of academic accolades is comparable. She recently completed work on a degree in sociology with a minor in criminology with a 3.93 GPA. O'Day academic success earned her membership in the Alpha Phi Sigma and Alpha Kappa Delta honors societies.

O'Day was recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as an Academic All-Region selection and as a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2020. O'Day was named to the FSU Dean's List seven times whiles earning President's List honors six times and was recognized by the league with selection to the MASCAC All-Academic team seven times.

O'Day was also very active in the community during her time with the Rams. O'Day volunteered for three semesters at the Rams Resource Center stocking shelves, tracking donations of food and supplies as they were received and assisting students as they came into the center to fulfill their needs. O'Day was a member of the Rams Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a group leader for the Special Olympics.

O'Day worked for the Framingham State University Athletic Department for four years as part of the contest management group. She also worked as an intern for the MetroWest YMCA Project ABC. She assisted her supervisor with set up for the play group, played with the children during the group and then was responsible for clean up at the end of the group. O'Day also helped promote the program to local families.

The MASCAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year has been awarded annually since 1980 to a student-athlete who has excelled in both the classroom and the field of play while maintaining at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average through the last year of athletic eligibility. O'Day is the first Ram to earn the honor since Alycia Rackliffe (volleyball/women's basketball) earned the honor in 2017.

About Framingham State University

Framingham State University was founded in 1839 as the nation’s first public university for the education of teachers. Since that time, it has evolved into a vibrant, comprehensive liberal arts institution offering small, personalized classes on a beautiful New England campus. Today, the University enrolls more than 6,000 students with 58 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences and professional fields. As a State College and University (SCU), Framingham State prides itself on quality academic programs, affordability, and commitment to access for all qualified students.