MOLINE, Ill. – Drake's Becca Hittner has been named the 2020 Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year, becoming the third player in league history to win the league's top award three-straight seasons, joining Illinois State's Kristi Cirone (2007, 2008, 2009) and Missouri State's Jackie Stiles (1999, 2000, 2001). Hittner has started all 30 games, leads the MVC in scoring with 18.9 points per outing, ranks ninth in rebounding at 6.4 per game and shot 41.2% from behind the arc. She raised her level of play during league action, leading the Valley in scoring with a 21.1 points per game average, while grabbing 7.2 rebounds per contest and shooting 46.9% from three in 18 contests.
In her first season at Illinois State, Juliunn Redmond is this year's Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year. A junior transfer from Tallahassee Community College, Redmond averaged 13.7 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game in MVC play, tallying double-digit scoring in 15 of the 18 Valley contests. She also led the Redbirds with 54 steals on the season. This is the third-straight season Illinois State has claimed the Newcomer of the Year award (Simone Goods in 2017 and TeTe Maggett in 2018), becoming the only time in MVC history a program has won the award three years in a row.
Missouri State junior guard Brice Calip earns this year's Defensive Player of the Year honor, becoming the sixth Lady Bear to win the award and first since Tyonna Snow in 2016. Calip ranks among the team leaders with 38 steals, 11 blocks and 75 defensive rebounds, all while drawing the toughest defensive assignment. The junior is the MVC leader with a 2.34 assist-to-turnover ratio and commits only 1.5 fouls per game. She had a streak of 24 assists without a turnover during league play, recording two games this season with eight assists and no turnovers.
Evansville rookie Abby Feit is this year's Freshman of the Year after she burst onto The Valley scene as one of the most efficient players in the league. Feit is the first UE freshman to lead the team in scoring since Sara Dickey in 2013-14 and led the Aces in scoring, rebounding, blocks, minutes played, and three-point field goals made. She finished the regular season with 23 games in double figures and recorded five double-doubles. Feit is Evansville's first outright MVC Freshman of the Year since Shinko Ono in 1999 (Sara Dickey shared the award with Lizzy Wendell of Drake in 2014).
Illinois State's Redmond also claimed The Valley's sixth-ever Sixth Player of the Year, a distinction that is designed to honor an impact player that has started in fewer than half of its conference games. This year, Redmond started in only one conference game, averaging 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in league play. Redmond becomes the first player in Valley history to sweep the Newcomer and Sixth Player of the Year Awards
In her first season at the helm, Missouri State's Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has been named the league's Coach of the Year for the first time in her career, guiding the Lady Bears to their 13th regular season title and earning the No. 1 seed in this week's tournament. Agugua-Hamilton set the Missouri State and MVC record for wins by a first-year coach with a 26-4 mark, becoming the only first-year Valley head coach to win an outright league title. Coach Mox joins Drake's Lisa Stone (2001) as the only first year coaches in league history to win the award. Agugua-Hamilton joins Kellie Harper (2019), Valerie Goodwin-Colbert (1987) and Cheryl Burnett (1991, 1992, 1994) as the only other MSU head coaches to earn the award.