« Women’s Basketball 2017-18

Sally McCabe

School
Belmont University
Position
Center
Major
Psychology

Classroom

Sally McCabe is working toward a Bachelor of Science in psychology while earning a minor in education. She has earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.84 through her junior year and has been named to the Belmont Dean’s list every semester of her collegiate career. She has been a member of the OVC Commissioner’s honor roll the past three years. McCabe is an OVC Medal of Honor Recipient, given to the student-athlete who achieves the highest GPA in a conference-sponsored sport (2014-15). She was recognized on the Division I Athletics Directors Association women’s basketball scholar-athlete first team for 2016-17 season. She has also been a member of the team in each of Belmont’s last three WBCA Top 25 Team Honor Roll selections (2016-17, 11th; 2015-16, 6th; 2014-15, 15th).

Character

McCabe is an exemplary leader, scholar and mentor. A lot of people are touted as natural-born leaders. McCabe is certainly that, but her leadership is that of a quiet leader—modeling servanthood while exhibiting active leadership. McCabe’s leadership may come off as natural, but upon closer observation it is intentional, stemming from a humble desire to help everyone become the best they can be and leading them to that.

McCabe has demonstrated an ability to lead the program on and off the floor with the highest level of integrity as she enters her fourth year as a Belmont student-athlete. The success of the program on the basketball court is a direct result of McCabe’s consistent contributions on both ends of the floor, along with her ability to lead and positively impact her teammates. She combines the highest levels of character and leadership while also being one of the most productive players in the country.

Not only is she a great student, she also contributes a high level of maturity, intelligence and team-first attitude. McCabe is coming off one of the best year’s any player has had in a Belmont uniform, but her main concern is always what is best for the team. Her dedication to teammates and the program reflects the quality of her character, and it’s why she was named a team captain for the upcoming season. Her impeccable character combined with her devoted leadership sets her apart.

Community

McCabe spends many hours working to better the community. During the past two summers, she volunteered at summer camps for Fellowship of Christian Athletes and worked with Bridge Fellowship mentoring middle and high school students. She also spearheads the team’s engagement in the community by organizing visits to local group homes, homeless shelters and schools. She gives her whole heart to her service, and her leadership and devotion inspire her teammates to do more to bring positive change to the campus and community. There is no doubt that Belmont as well as Nashville is a better place because of McCabe’s impact.

McCabe has had her hands in additional organizations around the campus and community than those listed above, such as the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society which recognizes the top 10% of juniors, seniors and graduate students. She helps organize the student-athlete talent show fundraiser, raising more than $8,000 per year for Special Olympics Nashville. McCabe has also offered her time to Special Olympics, St. Bernard Academy, Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, Cater Lawrence Elementary, Ronald McDonald House, Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, Cooper Trooper Pumpkin Patch and Franklin Christian Academy during her time at Belmont.

Competition

McCabe’s institutional athletic honors include her current rank of second all-time in Belmont record books in career blocks with 198 as of nomination time. In 2017, she broke the program record of 95 blocks in a single season. She scored her 1,000th point on 2/18/17, becoming the 28th player in program history to reach the milestone. She has averaged 11.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.04 blocks per game throughout her career thus far. She has played in every game of her career, starting in 83 contests. She registered 47 double-figure performances in the last two seasons, finished her junior campaign ranked in the top 15 nationally in blocks (9th) and blocks per game (12th) and has produced 12 double-doubles in her career. She was the Belmont Student-Athlete of the Month for March 2016 and in 2015 she broke the freshman record for most rebounds in a single game with 19.

McCabe’s conference athletic honors include being a two-time NCAA Championship participant (2016, 2017), two-time NCAA conference champion (2016, 2017), two-time Defensive Player of the Year (2016, 2017), two-time first-team All-OVC (2016, 2017), OVC Tournament All-Tournament selection (2017), OVC Player of the Week on Feb. 21, 2017, 2016 OVC Tournament MVP, Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Week (Dec. 7, 2015), College Sports Madness Ohio Valley Women’s Basketball Player of the Week (Dec. 7, 2015) and a two-time OVC Freshman of the Week (1/27 and 2/17 of 2014-15 season).

McCabe’s national athletic honors include being named to Tennessee Sports Writers Association Women’s Basketball Player of the Week (March 10, 2016), 2016-17 Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete First Team and Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week (Jan. 10, 2017).