Big East Conference Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year

The Big East Conference Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year, known as the Big East Conference Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year from 1989 to 2003, is an annual college basketball award presented to the top women's basketball freshman in the Big East Conference.

Big East Conference Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year

Awarded for	the top women's basketball freshman in the Big East Conference
Country	United States
History
First award	1983
Most recent	Sarah Strong, UConn

Key

†	Co-Freshman of the Year
*	Awarded a national Freshman of the Year award: USBWA National Freshman of the Year (USBWA) WBCA Freshman of the Year (WBCA)

Winners

Season	Player	School	National Freshman of the Year Awards	Source(s)
1982–83	Ann Marie McNamee	St. John's	—	[1]
1983–84	Shelly Pennefather	Villanova	—
1984–85	Felisha Legette-Jack	Syracuse	—
1985–86	Geraldine Sintilus	Seton Hall	—
1986–87	Kris Lamb	UConn	—
1987–88	Laura Lishness	UConn	—
1988–89	Tracy Lis	Providence	—
1989–90	Sarah Behn	Boston College	—
1990–91	Jonna Huemrich	Pittsburgh	—
1991–92	Rebecca Lobo	UConn	—
1992–93†	Holly Rilinger	Miami	—
	Jennifer Rizzotti	UConn	—
1993–94	Holly Porter	Boston College	—
1994–95	Nykesha Sales	UConn	—
1995–96	Kimberly Smith	Georgetown	—
1996–97	Shea Ralph	UConn	—
1997–98	Natasha Pointer	Rutgers	—
1998–99	Tamika Williams	UConn	—
1999–2000	Alicia Ratay	Notre Dame	—
2000–01	Rebekkah Brunson	Georgetown	—
2001–02	Jacqueline Batteast	Notre Dame	—
2002–03	Cappie Pondexter	Rutgers	—
2003–04	Meg Bulger	West Virginia	—
2004–05	Matee Ajavon	Rutgers	—
2005–06	Renee Montgomery	UConn	—
2006–07	Tina Charles*	UConn	USBWA
2007–08	Maya Moore*	UConn	UWBWA
2008–09	Da'Shena Stevens	St. John's	—
2009–10	Sugar Rodgers	Georgetown	—
2010–11	Bria Hartley	UConn	—
2011–12	Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	UConn	—
2012–13	Jewell Loyd*	Notre Dame	USBWA
2013–14	Natalie Butler	Georgetown	—	[2]
2014–15	Dorothy Adomako	Georgetown	—	[3]
2015–16	Allazia Blockton	Marquette	—	[4]
2016–17	Jaylyn Agnew	Creighton	—	[5]
2017–18	Qadashah Hoppie	St. John's	—	[6]
2018–19	Mary Baskerville	Providence	—	[7]
2019–20	Maddy Siegrist	Villanova	—	[8]
2020–21	Paige Bueckers*[a]	UConn	USBWA WBCA	[9]
2021–22	Aneesah Morrow	DePaul	USBWA WBCA	[10]
2022–23	Kennedy Fauntleroy	Georgetown	—	[11]
2023–24	Ashlynn Shade	UConn	—	[12]
2024–25	Sarah Strong	UConn	WBCA	[13]

1. Bueckers also won the Naismith and Wooden Awards as the national player of the year.

Winners by school

School (year joined)	Winners	Years
UConn (1979–2013, 2020–present)[a 1][a 2]	15	1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2021, 2024, 2025
Georgetown (1979–present)	6	1996, 2001, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2023
Notre Dame (1995–2013)[a 3]	3	2000, 2002, 2013
Rutgers (1995–2013)[a 1]	3	1998, 2003, 2005
St. John's (1979–present)	3	1983, 2009, 2018
Boston College (1979–2005)[a 4]	2	1990, 1994
Providence (1979–present)	2	1989, 2019
Villanova (1980–present)	2	1984, 2020
Creighton (2013–present)	1	2017
DePaul (2005–present)	1	2022
Marquette (2005–present)	1	2016
Miami (1991–2004)[a 5]	1	1993
Pittsburgh (1982–2013)[a 3]	1	1991
Seton Hall (1979–present)	1	1986
Syracuse (1979–2013)[a 3]	1	1985
West Virginia (1995–2012)[a 6]	1	2004
Butler (2013–present)	0	—
Cincinnati (2005–2013)[a 1]	0	—
Louisville (2005–2013)[a 1]	0	—
USF (2005–2013)[a 1]	0	—
Virginia Tech (2000–2004)[a 5]	0	—
Xavier (2013–present)	0	—

1. 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.
2. UConn joined the current Big East in 2020.
3. Notre Dame, Pitt, and Syracuse all left for the Atlantic Coast Conference after the 2012–13 season.
4. Boston College left for the ACC in 2005.
5. Miami and Virginia Tech left for the ACC in 2004.
6. West Virginia left for the Big 12 Conference in 2012.