Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year

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	Paige Bueckers, 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 20, and the most individual winners, with 12. 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

Ruth Riley is the first POY winner from Notre Dame.

Paige Bueckers is the most recent freshman to be named POY, and is also the most recent three-time POY.

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]

Winners by school

School (years in conference)	Winners	Years
UConn (1979–2013, 2020–present)[a 1][a 2]	20	1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2021, 2024, 2025
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	—

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. Miami and Virginia Tech left for the ACC in 2004.
5. Boston College left for the ACC in 2005.
6. West Virginia left for the Big 12 Conference in 2012.

See also

• Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
• Big East Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year