Nikki Hegstetter

Classroom

Nikki Hegstetter completed her undergraduate degree in three years with a 3.87 GPA and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in marketing in which she holds a 4.00 GPA. She was named Alabama’s Austin Scholar for the Outstanding Senior in the Culverhouse College of Commerce, presented annually to the outstanding undergraduate student in the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration as selected by the entire college faculty. She was a 2014 and 2015 Bryant Award finalist, which goes to Alabama’s top student-athlete and a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

“Nikki is a phenomenal example of a student-athlete who puts classroom first and basketball second. If you open our team notebook, we’re going to make sure we understand that we are here to get a degree first and foremost, and secondly, we play basketball at a high level. She’s all about that, and what a great model for us with our younger kids to have the chance to observe her on a daily basis.” - Alabama Head Coach Kristy Curry

Character

Hegstetter was named in a thank-you letter that was sent to the university president after she assisted patrons of an Alabama football game who had their car towed, and she was applauded for her “act of kindness.”

“She brings a tremendous amount of heart and character and toughness to our team. She does all the dirty work and all the little things every day that I say make a difference. Nikki is that for our team.” - Alabama Head Coach Kristy Curry

“Nikki is an awesome person, on and off the court. She really brings the fire to practice, and in the games she is really a gritty player. When we are down she’s the one to say, ‘Hey guys, come on. You’ve got this. Let’s pick it up.’” - sophomore Karyla Middlebrook

Community

Hegstetter was the recipient of the James Larry Carmichael Department of Marketing Outstanding Student Service Award at Alabama, which is given to the student with the most distinguished reputation for service to the entire university community. She also is a two-time nominee for the Allstate WBCA Good Words Team, a member of the 2014 and 2015 SEC Community Service teams, and is involved with Habitat for Humanity, the Miracle League of Tuscaloosa and the Alabama women’s basketball’s 5th Grade Fastbreak program. Hegstetter has volunteered at local high school basketball camps, read to elementary school students, talked with patients at the DCH Manderson Cancer Center, spent time with residents of Capstone Village Retirement Community and greeted veterans upon their return to Tuscaloosa from an Honor Flight from Washington, D.C.

Competition

Hegstetter is the senior team leader. Entering her senior season, she had started 67 consecutive games for the Crimson Tide, including every game as a sophomore and a junior. She is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 on the team in rebounds and blocks and also is one of the team’s leaders in assists. She finished the 2014-15 season ranked 13th in the Southeastern Conference in blocks in league games with an average of nearly one per contest and averaged 28.0 minutes per game as a junior and 23.3 for her career.