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Wait nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year award
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Then-senior libero Cassie Wait celebrates after a point against West Virginia. Kansas won in three sets.
▶ WESLEY DOTSON @WesDotsonUDK
Former Kansas libero Cassie Wait can add another accolade to her successful career with the volleyball program.
Wait was nominated by Kansas Athletics for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award on Tuesday.
In 2016, Wait, a three-year starter at libero, led the Jayhawks to their first-ever Big 12 Conference title. She also earned Big 12 Libero of the Year and Kansas City Sports Commission Sportswoman of the Year honors.
have eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics service and leadership through their collegiate careers.
According to the NCAA's official website, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who no longer
Wait graduated with a business degree in three years in May 2016 with a
finished her first academic year at the University's School of Law.
3. 90 GPA before enrolling in law school, according to Kansas Athletics. She is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree and a member of the University's Honors Program.
Wait was a key player in leading the Jayhawks to their first-ever Final Four appearance in 2015. She also finished her career with 104 wins and holds
The Gardner native just
the program's best fouryear winning percentage (.819). During her senior season, Wait led the Big 12 in digs per set (5.10) and finished second in career digs at Kansas $ ^{a} $ (1,958).
Wait is one of seven Big 12 athletes nominated by her school for the award.
Others include Kansas State's Katie Brand (volleyball), West Virginia's Kadeisha Buchanan (soccer), Oklahoma's Jennifer Carmichael (outdoor track and field), Oklahoma State's Courtney Dike (soccer), Texas' Gia Doonan (rowing) and Baylor's Blair Shankle (tennis).
In the next step of the selection process, NCAA conferences will select up to two conference nominees from each of
the school nominees. The committee will then choose the top 30 honorees with 10 coming from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each division and announce the nine finalists in September.
The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony on Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
Swain: The Chiefs may be rebuilding, but future is already here
MICHAEL SWAIN @mswain97
When the Chiefs fired general manager John Dorsey on the same day they extended coach Andy Reid's contract, I was surprised.
Why would an organization continue to take steps that, from the outside, look like the beginning of a re-build?
Associated Press
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid stands on the field as players warm up for a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati.
The Chiefs are currently stuck in the middle. They are not talented enough to compete with the likes of the Patriots and the other elite NFL teams. Yet, they have an aging defense and, in Alex
Smith, a quarterback whose arm isn't getting any better.
Their recent release of receiver Jeremy Maclin on June 2, and the departure of Jamaal Charles last year, combined with drafting quarterback Pat Mahomes II with the No.10 pick, indicates the direction the Chiefs intend to head in - a swift rebuild.
Reid, for all of his ingame faults, is one of the best coaches at developing quarterbacks and building offensive schemes that fit the quarterback best.
Mahomes has a cannon for an arm and showed it
frequently in his three years at Texas Tech. Mahomes has all the tools to be a great NFL quarterback, but what he needs most is time.
lion in cap room.
History has shown us that quarterbacks that sit their first two years behind a veteran starting quarterback tend to adapt better. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are two players who exemplify this.
As a 49ers fan, I envy the position the Chiefs are in — according to Over the Cap, they have $11,355,262 in available cap room for this season, and will go into the 2019 offseason with $81 mil-
With a rebuild comes tough decisions. Players who are on the books for $15 million plus have to be seen as moveable. In the Chiefs' case, Justin Houston ($22,100,000 a year) and Travis Kelce ($5,418,400 a year) are two players who could be on the move if the organization completely buys into a full rebuild.
Both players will command a lot of return in a trade, and the Chiefs could be looking at a first-round pick and two second-round picks, as well as younger players for both Houston
(28 years old) and Kelce (27 years old).
By committing to a rebuild it allows the Chiefs to re-shift their focus from Smith to Mahomes. The
Chiefs should bide their time with Mahomes as a backup until they are able to make big moves and become a serious contender for the Lombardi trophy.