Women’s college basketball awards: Strong leads picks, All-Americans

When the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season began one thing seemed certain: Yukon Ahead sarah strong Was the big favorite for national player of the year.

We didn’t know whether anyone would mount a significant challenge, especially since USC‘S juju watkinsUnanimously selected for this honor last year, he missed the season due to a knee injury.

But Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes Moved to make it a debate. Strong was ultimately our pick, but Blake also had a standout sophomore season and is one of ESPN’s All-America first-team choices.

Strong, who was a key part of UConn’s 12th NCAA title last year, has led the Huskies to a 34-0 record heading into Sunday’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special (8 p.m., ESPN). Strong is the Big East Player of the Year and league tournament MVP.

Blake averaged 30.5 ppg in SEC regular season games and was the league’s Player of the Year. Vanderbilt was selected eighth in the SEC’s preseason coaches poll, but finished second.

as the rest automated bids This week, before the NCAA brackets are released, we evaluate our end-of-season award winners for 2025-26, including Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and Transfer of the Year.

player of the year

Sarah Strong, Yukon

The numbers are only part of the story with Strong: 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, shooting 60.1% from the field and 42.7% from 3-point range. The list is long. The offensive and defensive numbers are equally impressive, showing how good Strong’s game is and how she impacts the game in multiple ways. But one number is missing: minutes played.

His stat line could have been much more impressive, but Strong only played 26.4 minutes per game. Instead of putting up big numbers, Strong sat on the bench during several fourth quarters as she helped decide the outcome early. The Huskies’ average margin of victory is 38.4 points. Only one of their 34 wins this season was decided by single digits. It’s no surprise that Strong performed even better in UConn’s No. 1-rated non-conference games. In seven games against teams in the Nets’ top 30, his stat line was 21.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 3.7 spg on 57.4% field goal shooting.

Still, as impressive as those numbers are, they don’t show how well Strong understands spacing, her feel for the game or how she thinks two steps ahead to be in the right position. He is selfless. During his first two seasons, Geno Auriemma has urged Strong to score more. Yet her play has remained steady, and she is still the focal point of UConn’s attack, whether she is passing or shooting. Although Strong didn’t win our Defensive Player of the Year award, she certainly could have. UConn has the best-rated defense in the country, and Strong is at the center of it.

Blake’s has had a season for the ages. But Strong is very impressive in many different ways. — Cream

freshman of the year

Aaliyah Chavez, oklahoma

A strange scenario unfolded in the SEC. Chávez won the league’s New Player of the Week award an SEC record eight times, was the league’s leading scorer among freshmen and was the only freshman to receive All-SEC honors (second team). But somehow, he was not named SEC Freshman of the Year; he went to vanderbilt Aubrey Galvan.

Both guards have had great seasons. The Commodores finished second in the league, with the Sooners finishing fifth. Vanderbilt won a head-to-head matchup with Oklahoma 102–86 on February 9 in Nashville, Tennessee; Galván had a season-high 30 points and Chávez had 14 points.

For the 16-game SEC regular season, Chávez averaged 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists, including 26 points and eight assists in the Sooners’ win over regular season champion South Carolina. Galvan averaged 14.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in SEC play.

USC guard jazzy davidson Other top candidates for National Freshman of the Year are; He won honors in the Big Ten. For the season, he has averaged 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists. In 18 league games as a Trojan, his numbers without the star increased to 18.9, 5.7 and 4.6 juju watkinsFinished ninth in the Big Ten.

This award was the most difficult for us to choose. Final tiebreaker: Of the projected top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, only one has a freshman as its leading scorer: Oklahoma with Chavez (18.4 ppg in 31 games). — vopel

game

Aliya Chavez beats two defenders and finishes the ball inside

Oklahoma’s Aaliyah Chavez finished with a tough bucket.

Defensive Player of the Year

hannah hidalgo, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Since this is an award entirely about defense, let’s imagine if Hidalgo never scored a point or recorded an assist. While that certainly isn’t the case, it’s still the picture of a highly impressive player. Hidalgo is as good without the ball as she is with it. Considering he averaged a career-high 25.2 points and 5.3 assists per game, that’s saying something. Hidalgo is not just a protector. He is disruptive. All the crimes are derailed by Hidalgo.

Notre Dame ranked 27th in adjusted defensive efficiency, with only average shot blocking and even worse defensive rebounding. That’s because Hidalgo’s 5.4 steals per game not only lead the nation, but are also better than the next player on the list (Montana State’s). Tylee Chirik). Hidalgo’s passing lane anticipation is only outdone by his ability to hock the ball past his dribbler. A 16-steal game against Akron in November attracted a lot of attention, but Hidalgo has had four games with 10 or more steals this season. A total of four such games took place in the rest of the country. Hidalgo really stands alone in the theft department. — Cream

game

Hannah Hidalgo Highlights vs. Syracuse Orange

Hannah Hidalgo Highlights vs. Syracuse Orange

transfer of year

olivia miles, TCU

This time a year ago, we wondered if Miles would declare for the WNBA Draft. Instead, he opted to return for his last college season but left Notre Dame for TCU. That decision benefited both the Horned Frogs, who won the Big 12 regular-season title, and Miles, who was the league’s Player of the Year.

Miles said she wanted another season of collegiate experience and thought TCU coach Mark Campbell’s system would help her continue to develop for the WNBA. He led the Frogs in scoring (19.6 ppg), assists (6.4 apg) and steals (1.8 spg) and averaged 6.9 rebounds. He has five triple-doubles this season and 11 in his college career.

After losing its top four scorers from last season’s Elite Eight team, TCU needed a talent that could learn things quickly. miles and partner transfers marta suarez (17.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and clara silva (8.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg) did so this season. — vopel

game

Olivia Miles scoops and scores for TCU

Olivia Miles gets to the rim and draws an and-1 for TCU.

coach of the year

Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt

Ralph, a former standout guard at UConn and longtime Huskies assistant coach, has returned Vanderbilt to elite status, including recruiting players such as Blake and Galvan. In his fifth season with the Commodores, Ralph was named SEC Coach of the Year and led them to a tie for second place in the league standings at 13–3 (27–4 overall); Both win totals are Vanderbilt’s highest ever in the regular season.

This will be Vanderbilt’s third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament after an eight-year drought. As the projected No. 2 seed, the Commodores have a good chance to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2009. — vopel

game

UCLA beats Iowa to win second consecutive Big Ten title

The No. 2 UCLA Bruins defeated the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes 96–45 to capture their second consecutive Big Ten title.

all americans

first team

F Sarah Strong, UConn
C Lauren Bates, UCLA
G Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Yes azy fadYukon
G Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame

second team

F madison booker, texas
F Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
G Olivia Miles, TCU
Yes Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State Buckeyes
Yes olivia olson, michigan wolverines

Leaving Booker off the first team was the toughest decision for our All-America teams, especially after his MVP performance in the SEC Tournament. But if not Booker, which player will replace him with the first team? Strong, Blakes and Bates were easy pickings. Hidalgo has had a tough shooting night at times, but if Strong isn’t there, he could be the best two-way player in the game. Fudd’s shooting efficiency from deep has been vital to UConn’s success and she has also become an elite defender. Booker and his 18.9 points per game certainly qualified. We just ran out of the room.

not included iowa state‘S audi crux It was another tough decision for any team. Blake is the only player in the country to average more points per game than Crooks (25.5 ppg).

It’s worth noting that seven out of 10 All-Americans are underclassmen. With the healthy return of juju watkins Next season, the competition for these places will not be easy. — Cream