MOLINE, Ill. – Southern Illinois' Abby Brockmeyer has been named the 2022 Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year presented by Great Southern Bank. Brockmeyer finished second in The Valley in scoring (16.4 ppg), was second in field goal percentage (52.9%), and led the league, averaging 10.3 rebounds per contest. The graduate forward was the only MVC player to average a double-double this season, while posting a double-double in 14 of SIU's 28 games. She also scored in double figures in 24 of SIU's 28 games. Brockmeyer becomes just the third SIU player to earn the league's Player of the Year honor, joining Bridgett Bonds (1987) and Amy Rakers (1990).
In her first season at Drake, Megan Meyer is this year's Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year. The junior guard, who joined the Bulldogs after two seasons at Iowa as back-up to Caitlin Clark, has made her impact on Drake. She worked her way into the Bulldogs starting lineup, being the only player for Drake to start and play in all 29 games. Averaging 12.4 points per game, Meyer had 19 games scoring in double digits and 11 games as Drake's leading scorer. She is the third Drake player to win MVC Newcomer of the Year joining Jayme Anderson in 2002 and Grace Berg in 2021.
Missouri State senior guard Brice Calip earns this year's Defensive Player of the Year honor, becoming the fifth player in league history to win the award multiple times. The sixth-year senior has set career highs in steals (64), rebounds per game (5.2), total rebounds (152) and defensive rebounds (104) this season. She has logged 11 games this season with three or more steals, and she set a career high with 13 rebounds at Drake earlier this season. In MVC play, Calip ranks fifth in steals per game with 2.3 and 14th in rebounding with 6.0 per game. Her 64 steals also rank 56th in the nation.
Bradley rookie Caroline Waite is this year's Freshman of the Year. Waite is the third Bradley freshman to earn the award, joining Karen Nicholls in 1987 and Lasha Petree in 2019. Waite is the top scoring underclassman (Fr/So) in The Valley this season, entering the MVC Tournament ninth overall in the league in scoring at 13.1 ppg. She leads all Valley players and ranks second among the nation's freshmen by averaging 2.88 3-point field goals per game and tallied seven games with at least 20 points this season.
Valparaiso's Grace White claimed The Valley's 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, White led all Valley players coming off the bench during MVC-only play in scoring (11.4 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg), steals (35) and three-pointers made (29).
Missouri State's Abigayle Jackson claimed The Valley's Most Improved Player Award. Since taking over in the starting lineup at the start of conference play, Jackson has averaged 15.4 ppg and 7.2 rpg, both of which lead the team. Last season in conference play, Jackson averaged just 4.4 ppg and 1.7 rpg. Over an entire season, Jackson improved her numbers from 4.7 ppg and 2.1 rpg in 2020-21 to 12.8 ppg and 6.6 rpg this season, while her total blocks increased from 29 to 66.
Southern Illinois' Cindy Stein has been named the league's Coach of the Year for the first time in her career, guiding the Salukis to their first regular season title since 2006-07. Stein, coaching in her ninth and final season at SIU, led the Salukis to an 11-win improvement from last season and was picked to finish eighth in the MVC Preseason Poll. She will retire as the second winningest coach in SIU women's basketball history.