Millsaps basketball’s Elyse Warren has earned the Southern Athletic Association’s highest honor for a female student-athlete, being named SAA Woman of the Year for her contributions on and off the court.
The Division III conference says the award recognizes “excellence in academics, athletics, service, and leadership.” It is handed out annually with Warren being the first Millsaps student-athlete to win it.
On the court, Warren had a record-breaking career for the Majors before graduating in May. She is one of the most accomplished players in SAA history, breaking conference records in career, season, and single-game rebounding with 1,219 career rebounds, 479 rebounds in a season, and 33 rebounds in a game. She also scored 1,236 points across four seasons (11.2 points per game), becoming the first 1,000-point, 1,000 rebound in Millsaps history.
The four-time All-SAA selection and 2025-26 SAA Defensive Player of the Year helped Millsaps to two SAA regular-season championships, two SAA Tournament titles, and two NCAA Tournament bids.
Off the court, Warren’s undergraduate career was just as impressive – if not more. She double-majored in mathematics and neuro- and cognitive science while minoring in chemistry and psychology, maintaining a 3.907 cumulative GPA that included five semesters with a perfect 4.0.
A three-time Rhodes Scholarship finalist, Warren consistently landed on the SAA Academic Honor Roll and was recently named the 2025-26 General Russell E. Dougherty Leader of the Year, the highest honor awarded by national leadership society Omicron Delta Kappa.
Warren has taken her scholarly pursuits beyond the classroom, conducting research in neuroscience, biochemistry, neuropharmacology, and organic chemistry through internships and fellowships at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Her research work has focused on subjects ranging from non-opioid analgesics to cancer stem cell research and kinase inhibitors designed to combat cancer-related metabolic dysregulation.
A campus leader, Warren was the president of the Millsaps Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, head chair of the Millsaps Honor Council, president of the National Honor Society in Neuroscience, president of Omicron Delta Kappa, and vice president of Major Lifts. She also served as a teaching assistant in chemistry and physics courses and mentored first-year students through Millsaps’ Pathway Program.
In the community, she has volunteered with the American Cancer Society – helping establish Mississippi’s first cohort and providing education and support to cancer patients and survivors – along with the Crisis Text Hotline as a counselor and the A Step Ahead Foundation as a promoter of women’s reproductive health education and access.
“Whether in the laboratory, the classroom, the community, or on the basketball court, Warren has exemplified the ideals of a Division III student-athlete,” a press release from the SAA said. “Her selection as the 2025-26 Southern Athletic Association Woman of the Year recognizes a legacy of academic excellence, servant leadership, and athletic achievement that has left a lasting impact on Millsaps College and the Southern Athletic Association.”
Being named SAA Woman of the Year is the latest honor for Warren, who was recently announced as part of the Millsaps Hall of Fame Class of 2026. This fall, she will take her talents to medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
