"This is big time for me and I couldn't be more excited," said freshman forward/center Tamara Nard upon being notified about her selection as an NJCAA All-American.
Nard was named NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Honorable Mention All-American on Tuesday afternoon making it three straight years a Butler women's basketball player has picked up All-American honors.
"This award is motivation for me," commented Nard. "It is going to make me work and grind harder so that I can reach my true and full potential. This only fuels my fire to work harder every day until it becomes easy."
This season, Nard was also named; KJCCC First Team All- Conference, KJCCC Freshman of the Year, Region VI First Team and Region VI All-Tournament Team.
"I'm extremely proud and happy for Tamara," said head coach Mike Helmer. "She came on as the year went on a got better every single day. That's all we ask of our players and she did it, every day. We are so happy for her and excited to have her back next year."
Nard finished her freshman campaign leading the Grizzlies in scoring averaging 16.2 points per game. She shot 58.1% from the floor on the season while grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game. She had a career high 33 points late in the season on the road against Neosho. Nard posted 20+ points in a game on ten separate occasions with six of those coming in her final seven games of the season.
With the All-American recognition, Tamara Nard joins an elite class of four other Grizzlies that, under head coach Mike Helmer, have earned the highest honor given out in the NJCAA. Those players are Te'era Williams '14, Ashley Gibson '15, Ericka Mattingly '18 and Kyla Callins '19.
"I am extremely proud of our coaches and this program," mentioned Helmer. "To go three straight years with an All-American from Butler on that list of the best players in the country, it is special. Coach Fawcett, Mortimer and Manuel over the last few years have done an awesome job. They worked with these players day in and day out to make them the best they can be and the results have been amazing."
Nard is one of 17 freshmen out of the 50 recipients that earned the All-American award. To put this award into perspective, there are 183 NJCAA women's teams that play Division I basketball and over 2,500 participants in total, Nard is inside the top 50.
"There are a lot of factors that go into being an All-American," commented Helmer. "First off, you have to have talent and Tamara has a lot of talent. You also must have great teammates to help you along the way, she had great ones. Your team also must win for you to be considered. When you have the type of talent that was around Tamara good things can happen."
Butler Women's Basketball All-Americans under Mike Helmer:
2020- Tamara Nard
2019- Kyla Callins
2018- Ericka Mattingly
2015- Ashley Gibson
2014- Te'era Williams
2019-20 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball All-America Teams
All-America selections are made by the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee
| FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS | ||||
| PLAYER | COLLEGE | POS. | CLASS | |
| Okako Adika | Odessa (TX) | G/F | So. | |
| Tyra Brown | Jefferson (MO) | G | So. | |
| Ayanna Clark | Central Arizona | F | So. | |
| Kobe King-Hawea | Gillette (WY) | G/F | Fr. | |
| Felmas Koranga | Tyler (TX) | F | So. | |
| Imari Martin | Wallace State (AL) | G | So. | |
| Tishara Morehouse | Western Nebraska | G | So. | |
| Keya Patton | Wabash Valley (IL) | G | So. | |
| Ahlana Smith | Gulf Coast State (FL) | F | So. | |
| Amber Stevahn | Bismarck State (ND) | F | So. | |
| SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS | ||||
| PLAYER | COLLEGE | POS. | CLASS | |
| Daliyah Brown | Miami Dade (FL) | G | So. | |
| Curtessia Dean | Trinity Valley (TX) | G | So. | |
| Za'Nautica Downs | Florida SouthWestern State | G | So. | |
| LaTascya Duff | Shelton State (AL) | G | So. | |
| Asjah Harrell | Cleveland State (TN) | G | Fr. | |
| Ta'Keria Legette | Spartanburg Methodist (SC) | G | So. | |
| Brittany Reeves | Independence (KS) | C | So. | |
| Awa Sidibe | Salt Lake (UT) | F | Fr. | |
| Shamari Tyson | South Georgia Tech | G | So. | |
| Daphane White | Mississippi Gulf Coast | F | So. | |
| THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICANS | ||||
| PLAYER | COLLEGE | POS. | CLASS | |
| Sommer Blakemore | Iowa Western | G | So. | |
| Fess Hawkins | Vincennes (IN) | F | So. | |
| Reneya Hopkins | Redlands (OK) | G | So. | |
| Kira Lowery | Dyersburg State (TN) | G | So. | |
| Abby Ogle | Hutchinson (KS) | G | So. | |
| Chanaya Pinto | Northwest Florida State | F | Fr. | |
| Makayla Pippin | Central Arizona | G/F | So. | |
| Destiny Thurman | Collin County (TX) | G | So. | |
| Ella Tofaeono | Midland (TX) | F | So. | |
| DeAnna Wilson | Moberly Area (MO) | F | Fr. | |
| HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICANS | ||||
| PLAYER | COLLEGE | POS. | CLASS | |
| Jahnaria Brown | Georgia Highlands | C | So. | |
| Madison Buford | Rend Lake (IL) | G | Fr. | |
| Melisa Carter | Chattanooga State (TN) | F | Fr. | |
| Aleisha Curry | Santa Fe (FL) | F | Fr. | |
| Petra Farkas | Southern Idaho | G | So. | |
| Kelvajha Foster | Harford (MD) | G | Fr. | |
| Taiyanna Jackson | Trinity Valley (TX) | F | Fr. | |
| Keyara Jones | Jones (MS) | G | So. | |
| Leah Mafua | Otero (CO) | F | Fr. | |
| Jada McCurdy | Malcolm X (IL) | G | Fr. | |
| Masyn McWilliams | Mineral Area (MO) | G | So. | |
| Kyla Moore | Northeast (NE) | G | So. | |
| Tamara Nard | Butler (KS) | F/C | Fr. | |
| Margarett Otuafi | Utah State Eastern | F | Fr. | |
| Rayven Peeples | Northwest Florida State | F | So. | |
| Binta Salawu | Miles (MT) | G | So. | |
| Cheyenne Talbot | Monroe (NY) | G | Fr. | |
| Lovietta Walker | Angelina (TX) | G | Fr. | |
| Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din | South Georgia Tech | F | So. | |
| Deja Williams | Eastern Oklahoma State | G | Fr. | |
