In May 2019, Abbey Cheek-Ramsey graduated from the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment with a degree in Community and Leadership Development (CLD). The following month, as she finished up her final season with the University of Kentucky softball team, Cheek-Ramsey was named the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Player of the Year.  

In 2025, Cheek-Ramsey became a member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.

Cheek-Ramsey said that, as a former player, she was already surprised to get a call from Mitch Barnhart, UK athletics director. When he said why — that she had been selected as a Hall of Famer — Cheek-Ramsey “didn’t have any words.”  

“It was crazy,” she said. “It’s a super exciting honor, and I’m proud of it.”  

Cheek-Ramsey said her Hall of Fame induction shows that hard work pays off and that there were “good things” even when she may have doubted her abilities or impact. In addition to her National Player of the Year honor, she was also 2019 SEC Player of the Year, the first UK softball player to win that honor.  

“All four years, I would go back and do it again if I could,” she said.  

Now an assistant athletic director for a preparatory school, Cheek-Ramsey finds herself using the leadership skills she cultivated as a CLD student. As a student-athlete, she led the softball team, but she knows — and does — more of what happens behind the scenes.

“Being able to lead a department is really one of the things that I took from this major,” Cheek-Ramsey said.  

CLD Director of Undergraduate Studies Keiko Tanaka advises student-athletes and gets to “watch them grow.” She has also taught many in the senior capstone course required for all CLD majors.

“Among all student athletes I had, Abbey excelled in balancing her academic and athletic responsibilities. The NCAA Division I college softball season is long and arduous, but Abbey never fell behind with her academics,” Tanaka said. "In the classroom, Abbey was a great leader to whom many CLD students looked up."

Looking back at her collegiate career, Cheek-Ramsey had advice for younger people, including student-athletes.  

“Sometimes it's going to be hard,” she said. “But at the end of the road, it's worth it.”

Learn more about the UK Community and Leadership Development at https://cld.ca.uky.edu/.  

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Writer: Bailey Vandiver, bailey.vandiver@uky.edu

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