Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year

In this article, we will explore in detail Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year and its impact on different aspects of our daily lives. From its origin to its evolution, Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year has played a fundamental role in the way we interact with the world around us. Over the years, Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year has generated endless debates and discussions, becoming a topic of interest for academics, professionals and the general public. Through this analysis, we will seek to shed light on the various facets of Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year and its influence on our current society.

Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year
Awarded forthe most outstanding basketball player in the Big Ten Conference
CountryUnited States
Presented byBig Ten head coaches (1983–present)
Big Ten media (1996–present)
First awarded1983
Currently held byCaitlin Clark, Iowa

The Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Big Ten Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the Big Ten's first full season of women's basketball in 1982–83 (although the conference held its first postseason tournament the previous season). The league's head coaches have presented the award since 1983; media members who cover Big Ten women's basketball began presenting their own version of the award in 1996.[n 1]

Ten players have won the award multiple times. Six players have won twice: Anucha Browne of Northwestern (1984, 1985), Tracey Hall of Ohio State (1986, 1987), Katie Douglas of Purdue (2000, 2001), Kelly Mazzante of Penn State (2003, 2004), Maggie Lucas of Penn State (2013, 2014), and Megan Gustafson of Iowa (2018, 2019). Four players have won more than two awards. Ohio State's Jantel Lavender is the only four-time winner (2008–2011), though only the 2009 and 2010 awards were unanimous (she won the coaches' award in 2008 and the media award in 2011). Jessica Davenport, also of Ohio State, and Caitlin Clark of Iowa are the only players to have been the unanimous winner of three awards (Davenport: 2005–2007; Clark: 2022–2024). Ohio State's other three-time winner, Kelsey Mitchell, won the coaches' award in 2015 and 2018 and both awards in 2017.

Five players have won a major national player of the year award in the same season in which they were Big Ten Player of the Year. Michelle Edwards of Iowa won the Rawlings/Women Basketball Coaches Association national player of the year award in 1988; Carol Ann Shudlick of Minnesota won the Wade Trophy in 1994; Stephanie White of Purdue won the Wade Trophy and Honda Award in 1999; Megan Gustafson won the Naismith and Honda Awards in 2019, and was also named national player of the year by AP and the United States Basketball Writers Association; and Caitlin Clark won all significant national awards in both 2023 and 2024.

The coaches and media have split their honors six times in all, with the most recent being 2018, when Mitchell won the coaches' award and Gustafson won the media award.

Ohio State has the record for the most awards with 15, and the most individuals who have won the award, with seven. Of current Big Ten Conference members, three schools have never had a winner: long-established member Indiana, and the two schools that joined the conference in 2014, Maryland and Rutgers.

Key

† Co-Players of the Year
C Coaches selection
M Media selection
* Awarded a national Player of the Year award: Wade Trophy (1977–78 to present)
Naismith College Player of the Year (1982–83 to present)
John R. Wooden Award (2003–04 to present)
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player has been named the Big Ten Player of the Year at that point

Winners

Season Player School Position Class Reference
1982–83 Laura Coenen Minnesota Sophomore
1983–84 Anucha Browne Northwestern Junior
1984–85 Anucha Browne (2) Northwestern Senior
1985–86 Tracey Hall Ohio State Sophomore
1986–87 Tracey Hall (2) Ohio State Junior
1987–88 Michelle Edwards Iowa G Senior
1988–89 Lisa Cline Ohio State F Senior
1989–90 Franthea Price Iowa G Senior
1990–91 Joy Holmes Purdue F Senior
1991–92 MaChelle Joseph Purdue G Senior
1992–93 Toni Foster Iowa F Senior
1993–94 Carol Ann Shudlick* Minnesota F/C Senior
1994–95 Stacey Lovelace Purdue F Junior
1995–96 Katie Smith Ohio State F Senior
1996–97 Ashley Berggren Illinois G Junior
1997–98 Tangela Smith Iowa C Senior
1998–99 Stephanie White* Purdue G Senior
1999–2000† Helen DarlingC Penn State G Senior
Katie DouglasM Purdue G Junior
2000–01 Katie Douglas (2) Purdue G Senior
2001–02 Lindsay Whalen Minnesota G Sophomore
2002–03 Kelly Mazzante Penn State G Junior
2003–04 Kelly Mazzante (2) Penn State G Senior
2004–05 Jessica Davenport Ohio State C Sophomore
2005–06 Jessica Davenport (2) Ohio State C Junior
2006–07 Jessica Davenport (3) Ohio State C Senior
2007–08† Jolene AndersonM Wisconsin G Senior
Jantel LavenderC Ohio State C Freshman
2008–09 Jantel Lavender (2) Ohio State C Sophomore
2009–10 Jantel Lavender (3) Ohio State C Junior
2010–11† Kalisha KeaneC Michigan State F Senior
Jantel Lavender (4)M Ohio State C Senior
2011–12 Samantha Prahalis Ohio State G Senior
2012–13 Maggie Lucas Penn State G Junior
2013–14† Jordan HooperC Nebraska F Senior
Maggie Lucas (2)M Penn State G Senior
2014–15† Kelsey MitchellC Ohio State G Freshman
Amanda Zahui B.M Minnesota C Sophomore
2015–16 Rachel Banham Minnesota G Senior
2016–17 Kelsey Mitchell (2) Ohio State G Junior
2017–18† Kelsey MitchellC (3) Ohio State G Senior
Megan GustafsonM Iowa F Junior
2018–19 Megan Gustafson* (2) Iowa F Senior
2019–20 Kathleen Doyle Iowa G Senior
2020–21 Naz Hillmon Michigan F Junior
2021–22 Caitlin Clark Iowa G Sophomore
2022–23 Caitlin Clark* (2) Iowa G Junior
2023–24 Caitlin Clark* (3) Iowa G Senior

Winners by school

School (year joined) Winners Years
Ohio State (1912) 15 1986, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008†, 2009, 2010, 2011†, 2012, 2015†, 2017, 2018†
Iowa (1900) 10 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2018†, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Minnesota (1896) 5 1983, 1994, 2002, 2015†, 2016
Penn State (1993) 5 2000†, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014†
Purdue (1896) 5 1991, 1992, 1995, 2000†, 2001
Northwestern (1896) 2 1984, 1985
Illinois (1896) 1 1997
Michigan (1896) 1 2021
Michigan State (1953) 1 2011†
Nebraska (2011) 1 2014†
Wisconsin (1896) 1 2008†
Indiana (1900) 0 —
Maryland (2014) 0 —
Rutgers (2014) 0 —

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Big Ten records do not directly state when media began presenting a Player of the Year award. However, the Big Ten's 2014–15 women's basketball media guide, the primary reference for this article, explicitly states that media members began selecting an all-conference team in the 1995–96 season (see p. 76). It can therefore be safely assumed that media began choosing their own Player of the Year at that time.

References

General
  • "2014–15 Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
    • Players of the Year through 2013–14 season: p. 77
    • National award winners: p. 78
    • Positions for winners prior to 2014–15, unless noted otherwise: Most Valuable Players (by school), pp. 74–75
Specific
  1. ^ Big Ten WNBA Draft Selections, 2014–15 Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Media Guide, p. 85.
  2. ^ "Women's Basketball: 2013–14 Roster". Nebraska Cornhuskers. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Women's Basketball Postseason Honors" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  4. ^ "Big Ten Unveils Women's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. February 29, 2016. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  5. ^ "Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced On BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. February 28, 2017. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced On BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. February 26, 2018. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced on BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  8. ^ "2019-20 Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced On BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  9. ^ "2020-21 Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  10. ^ "2021-22 Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "2022-23 Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "2023-24 Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
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