HELENA, Mont. – Dr. Scott Crawford, the Frontier Conference's commissioner, has announced the conference nominees for the 2025 NAIA national awards. The conference has nominated both one male and one female Emil S. Liston Award, presented annually by the NAIA. Carroll College guard Willa Albrecht is the Frontier Conference female nominee for the Emil S. Liston Award.

The Emil S. Liston Award, presented by Daktronics, is named in honor of the NAIA's first executive secretary and the prime mover behind the men's basketball tournament.  The award has been presented annually since 1950 to one junior men's and women's basketball player who has shown high athletic and scholastic achievement.

Willa Albrecht – Carroll Women's Basketball – Emil S. Liston Award 

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Albrecht, a six-foot guard from Billings, Mont. will represent the Frontier Conference on the national ballot for the prestigious Liston Award.

Albrecht, one of the best players in the league, was named a First Team Frontier All-Conference selection for the Fighting Saints this past season. The lengthy guard is one of the best two-way players in conference, proving to be a matchup nightmare both offensively and defensively for opposing teams. Last season, Albrecht finished the year second in the conference in total rebounds per game (7.2), as well as fourth in the league in points per game (14.9).

Albrecht didn't just do her damage from the floor, she led the Frontier Conference in free throw percentage (99-113 | 87.6 percent) and was No. 18 in the entire NAIA in the category as well.

Albrecht, who had as good an argument as any player in the league for Player of the Year, was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week an astonishing six times over the course of the 2024-25 season.

A Biology major, Albrecht is equally as impressive in the classroom as she is on the court. The redshirt-senior maintains a cumulative GPA of 3.71, a true testament to her dedication at all pursuits, both academic and athletic. In total, the Women's Basketball team finished the academic year with two consecutive semesters of a team-wide GPA greater than 3.70, with Albrecht aiding the high marks.

This past spring, Albrecht was named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selection, and was pushed forward as an Academic All-American nomination as well.

Four times she has been a Dean's List recipient, and is a multi-time Academic All-Conference selection.

The NAIA National Awards voting will take place later this summer, with Award winners being announced on September 15. Should Albrecht be given the national award, she would be the first in program history to claim the honor.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com in the coming weeks for more information on the upcoming Women's Basketball season, to continue to stay up to date on everything going on in Carroll Athletics.