"What an incredible accomplishment for Jaymee, our program, and for the university," head coach Buffie Burson said following the announcement.
The highest honor in the country comes as no surprise for the sophomore sensation who was named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and Southeast Region Player of the Year following her first season at the NCAA Division II level.
"To be named the Daktronics National Player of the Year while playing in the grueling Peach Belt Conference is remarkable," Burson said. "She faced so many great players and defensive schemes this season. It was exciting to coach her and watch her work her magic."
A transfer from Wake Forest University, Carnes has made an immediate impact on North Georgia, the Peach Belt Conference, and the NCAA Division II level as a whole.
North Georgia College & State University continues to be recognized at the highest level, as Carnes becomes the third athlete from the university to earn National Player of the Year over the last three years. Sarah Phillips and Jessica Coan received back-to-back National Pitcher of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011 and Carnes follows in the footsteps of the softball legends with her own Player of the Year honor.
The Peach Belt Conference is no stranger to the women's basketball National Player of the Year either, as Lander's Shannon McKever was the first-ever PBC Player to earn the award when she did so last season. McKever won the award as a senior, while Carnes will have two more chances to repeat as the best player in the nation.
"With her strong work ethic and commitment, I look forward to seeing her continue to grow even more as a great player," Burson said of the development of the nation's best player. "To win this award as a sophomore is simply amazing."
The native of nearby Gainesville, Georgia, Carnes set multiple Peach Belt Conference records and nearly rewrote the North Georgia record book during the 2011-12 season.
Carnes is just the second player in PBC history to lead the nation in scoring, joining Kennesaw State's Joanna Cuprys who averaged 26.0 points per game in 1996-97.
She scored 30-plus points three times and had a career-high 40 points against Brenau. She finished second in the league and 15th in the nation in rebounds per game with 11.2 and recorded 20 double-doubles, which led all of NCAA Division II. She also led the league and was ranked eighth nationally in blocks.
Carnes led the nation in scoring at 25.0 points per game and finished with 624 points scored, which is the tenth highest scoring total in the history of the Peach Belt Conference.
She also set North Georgia records for total points in a season, scoring average in a season, and free throws made. The sharp-shooter holds North Georgia NCAA Division II single game records for points in a game with 40, blocks in a game with nine, and field goals made in a game with 16, a mark she accomplished twice in a span of 35 days.
The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Jaymee Carnes, right, has been named the Daktronics Division II Player of the Year.
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