HOPEWELL, N.J. (Oct. 19, 2022) — HerHoopStats.com announced the 25 members of the preseason watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats.
The Missouri Valley Conference has two players making the list. Belmont’s Destinee Wells and Murray State’s Katelyn Young each appeared on the list of 25 players. Both were named as Preseason All-MVC selections on Tuesday morning.
Wells followed up her stellar freshman campaign with an equally impressive season in 2021-22, leading the Bruins in scoring and assists on the way to a 23-8 record and the 36th-ranked Her Hoop Stats rating in the country. Now in the MVC and the increased spotlight that comes with it, Wells has a chance to elevate her profile even more.
Young is arguably the second-most efficient volume scorer in the country, trailing only Iowa’s Monika Czinano as the only two players to average 20.0 points per game on at least 1.30 points per scoring attempt (PPSA). Young also adds strong rebounding and better-than-average shot-blocking and foul rates to her profile, ranking in the top 25% nationally in both.
The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, with South Dakota’s Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner. FGCU’s Kierstan Bell won the award in 2021 and 2022. This year’s preseason watch list includes representatives from 25 schools and 13 conferences.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award, and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. In January, 15 players will be named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in February, with five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in late March. The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.
About Becky Hammon
Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program’s only appearance to date. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career. Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016 she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and was recently named to the W25.
Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Additionally, Hammon is the only woman to be a head coach in the NBA Summer League as well as the only woman to be a member of an NBA All-Star coaching staff. Currently, Hammon is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and won the 2022 WNBA Championship in her first season.
About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).