Early, a freshman from Ellicott City, Maryland, was named National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year. She scored 32 points in field events at the 2021 NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships thanks to a discus-hammer-shot put triple and finishing fifth in the javelin. During the regular season, Early topped the Descending Order List in both the discus and shot put and sat top-5 in the hammer and javelin.