Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year
Award
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The Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year award is given to the women's basketball player in the Big East Conference voted as the top performer by the conference coaches. It was first awarded at the end of the 1982–83 season, the first in which the Big East sponsored women's basketball. The current Big East claims the history of the original Big East Conference, which split along football lines in 2013, with three members leaving to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, the seven members that did not field teams in NCAA Division I FBS leaving to form a new Big East Conference, and the remaining FBS schools continuing to operate under the original Big East charter with the new name of American Athletic Conference (The American).
| Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | the most outstanding female basketball player in the Big East Conference |
| Country | United States |
| First award | 1983 |
| Currently held by | Sarah Strong, UConn |
The head coaches of the league's teams submit their votes following the end of the regular season and before the conference's tournament in early March. The coaches cannot vote for their own players.[1]
The first award went to Debbie Beckford of St. John's in 1983. There have been eight multiple winners so far. Rebecca Lobo and Diana Taurasi, both of UConn; Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins; and Villanova's Maddy Siegrist each won the award twice in their careers. Shelly Pennefather of Villanova and Kerry Bascom, Maya Moore, and Paige Bueckers of UConn were all three-time winners. Pennefather and Bascom won all of their awards consecutively, while Moore and Bueckers did not.
So far, voting has resulted in a tie once, in 1984 when both Jennifer Bruce and Kathy Finn won the award.
Eight players have also won National Player of the Year awards. Rebecca Lobo, Ruth Riley, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Paige Bueckers are all recipients of the Naismith College Player of the Year award. Shelly Pennefather, Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti, Bird, Taurasi, Moore, and Bueckers are all recipients of the Wade Trophy. Moore and Bueckers are also recipients of the John R. Wooden Award.
UConn, a founding member of the original Big East that moved to The American with the conference split and joined the current Big East in 2020, has the most all-time awards, with 21, and the most individual winners, with 13. Apart from UConn, the only current Big East members with more than one winner are Villanova, with three players who combined to win six awards; DePaul, with three players who each won one award; and Creighton and Marquette, each with two players who claimed one award. Three current Big East members have yet to have a winner—Seton Hall, which was a charter member of the Big East in 1979, and Butler and Xavier, both of which joined the Big East at its 2013 relaunch.
Key
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: the Naismith College Player of the Year, Wade Trophy or the John R. Wooden Award |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Player of the Year award |
Winners
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| Season | Player | School | Class | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–83 | Debbie Beckford | St. John's | Senior | [2] |
| 1983–84† | Jennifer Bruce | Pittsburgh | Sophomore | [2] |
| Kathy Finn | Providence | Sophomore | ||
| 1984–85 | Shelly Pennefather | Villanova | Sophomore | [2] |
| 1985–86 | Shelly Pennefather (2) | Villanova | Junior | [2] |
| 1986–87 | Shelly Pennefather* (3) | Villanova | Senior | [2] |
| 1987–88 | Lisa Angelotti | Villanova | Senior | [2] |
| 1988–89 | Kerry Bascom | UConn | Sophomore | [2] |
| 1989–90 | Kerry Bascom (2) | UConn | Junior | [2] |
| 1990–91 | Kerry Bascom (3) | UConn | Senior | [2] |
| 1991–92 | Frances Savage | Miami | Senior | [3] |
| 1992–93 | Kris Witfill | Georgetown | Senior | [2] |
| 1993–94 | Rebecca Lobo | UConn | Junior | [2] |
| 1994–95 | Rebecca Lobo* (2) | UConn | Senior | [2] |
| 1995–96 | Jennifer Rizzotti* | UConn | Senior | [2] |
| 1996–97 | Kara Wolters | UConn | Senior | [2] |
| 1997–98 | Nykesha Sales | UConn | Senior | [2] |
| 1998–99 | Svetlana Abrosimova | UConn | Sophomore | [2] |
| 1999–00 | Shea Ralph | UConn | Junior | [2] |
| 2000–01 | Ruth Riley* | Notre Dame | Senior | [2] |
| 2001–02 | Sue Bird* | UConn | Senior | [2] |
| 2002–03 | Diana Taurasi* | UConn | Junior | [2] |
| 2003–04 | Diana Taurasi* (2) | UConn | Senior | [2] |
| 2004–05 | Jacqueline Batteast | Notre Dame | Senior | [2] |
| 2005–06 | Cappie Pondexter | Rutgers | Senior | [2] |
| 2006–07 | Angel McCoughtry | Louisville | Sophomore | [2] |
| 2007–08 | Maya Moore | UConn | Freshman | [2] |
| 2008–09 | Maya Moore* (2) | UConn | Sophomore | [4] |
| 2009–10 | Tina Charles* | UConn | Senior | [5] |
| 2010–11 | Maya Moore* (3) | UConn | Senior | [6] |
| 2011–12 | Skylar Diggins | Notre Dame | Junior | [7] |
| 2012–13 | Skylar Diggins (2) | Notre Dame | Senior | [8] |
| 2013–14 | Marissa Janning | Creighton | Sophomore | [9] |
| 2014–15 | Brittany Hrynko | DePaul | Senior | [10] |
| 2015–16 | Chanise Jenkins | DePaul | Senior | [11] |
| 2016–17 | Brooke Schulte | DePaul | Senior | [12] |
| 2017–18 | Allazia Blockton | Marquette | Junior | [13] |
| 2018–19 | Natisha Hiedeman | Marquette | Senior | [14] |
| 2019–20 | Jaylyn Agnew | Creighton | Senior | [15] |
| 2020–21 | Paige Bueckers* | UConn | Freshman | [16] |
| 2021–22 | Maddy Siegrist | Villanova | Junior | [17] |
| 2022–23 | Maddy Siegrist (2) | Villanova | Senior | [18] |
| 2023–24 | Paige Bueckers (2) | UConn | RS Junior | [19] |
| 2024–25 | Paige Bueckers (3) | UConn | RS Senior | [20] |
| 2025–26 | Sarah Strong* | UConn | Sophomore | [21] |
Winners by school
| School (years in conference) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| UConn (1979–2013, 2020–present)[a 1][a 2] | 21 | 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Villanova (1980–present) | 6 | 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2022, 2023 |
| Notre Dame (1995–2013)[a 3] | 4 | 2001, 2005, 2012, 2013 |
| DePaul (2005–present) | 3 | 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Creighton (2013–present) | 2 | 2014, 2020 |
| Marquette (2005–present) | 2 | 2018, 2019 |
| Georgetown (1979–present) | 1 | 1993 |
| Louisville (2005–2013)[a 1] | 1 | 2007 |
| Miami (1991–2004)[a 4] | 1 | 1992 |
| Pittsburgh (1982–2013)[a 3] | 1 | 1984† |
| Providence (1979–present) | 1 | 1984† |
| Rutgers (1995–2013)[a 1] | 1 | 2006 |
| St. John's (1979–present) | 1 | 1983 |
| Boston College (1979–2005)[a 5] | 0 | — |
| Butler (2013–present) | 0 | — |
| Cincinnati (2005–2013)[a 1] | 0 | — |
| Seton Hall (1979–present) | 0 | — |
| Syracuse (1979–2013)[a 3] | 0 | — |
| USF (2005–2013)[a 1] | 0 | — |
| Virginia Tech (2000–2004)[a 4] | 0 | — |
| West Virginia (1995–2012)[a 6] | 0 | — |
| Xavier (2013–present) | 0 | — |
- Following the split of the original Big East, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers, South Florida, and UConn all remained in the football-sponsoring portion that became the American Athletic Conference.
- UConn joined the current Big East in 2020.
- Notre Dame, Pitt, and Syracuse all left for the Atlantic Coast Conference after the 2012–13 season.
- Miami and Virginia Tech left for the ACC in 2004.
- Boston College left for the ACC in 2005.
- West Virginia left for the Big 12 Conference in 2012.