Women's college basketball awards and All-Americans: UConn's Sarah Strong leads way

One thing seemed certain when the 2025-26 women's college basketball season opened: UConn forward Sarah Strong was the big favorite for national player of the year.

We didn't know whether anyone would provide a significant challenge, especially since USC's JuJu Watkins, last year's consensus pick for that honor, sat out this season with a knee injury.

But Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes stepped up to make it a debate. Ultimately Strong was our pick, but Blakes also had exceptional sophomore season and is among ESPN's All-America first-team picks.

Strong, a key part of UConn's 12th NCAA title last year, has led the Huskies to a 34-0 record heading into Sunday's NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Special (8 p.m. Sunday, ESPN). Strong is the Big East Player of the Year and league tournament MVP.

Blakes averaged 30.5 PPG in SEC regular-season games and was the league's player of the year. Vanderbilt was picked eighth in the SEC's preseason coaches' poll but finished tied for second.

As the rest of the automatic bids are won this week and before the release of the NCAA bracket, we weigh in with our end-of-season award winners for 2025-26, including freshman of the year, coach of the year and transfer of the year.

Player of the Year

Sarah Strong, UConn

The numbers are only part of the story with Strong: 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, 60.1% shooting from the field and 42.7% from 3-point range. The list is long. The offensive and defensive numbers are equally impressive, illustrating how well-rounded Strong's game is and how she impacts the game in so many ways. But there is one number missing: minutes played.

Her stat line could be so much more impressive, but Strong only played 26.4 minutes per game. Instead of piling up more numbers, Strong sat on the bench during many fourth quarters because she helped decide the outcome early. The Huskies' average margin of victory is 38.4 points. Only one of their 34 victories this season was decided by single digits. Not surprisingly, Strong performed even better in UConn's No. 1-rated nonconference games. In seven games against teams in the top 30 of the NET, her stat line was 21.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 4.6 APG, 3.7 SPG, with 57.4% field goal shooting.

Still, as impressive as those numbers are, they don't show how well Strong understands spacing, her feel for the game or how she seems to think two moves ahead to be in the right position. She's unselfish. Through her first two seasons, Geno Auriemma has implored Strong to score more. Yet her game has remained steady, and she's still the centerpiece of UConn's attack, whether she is passing or shooting. While Strong didn't win our defensive player of the year award, she certainly could have. UConn has the best rated defense in the country, and Strong is at the center of that, too.

Blakes has had a season for the ages. But Strong is just too dominant in too many different ways. -- Creme

Freshman of the Year

Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma

An odd scenario unfolded in the SEC. Chavez won the league's freshman of the week award an SEC record-tying eight times, was the league's leading scorer among freshmen and was the only freshman to receive All-SEC honors (second team). But somehow, she wasn't named SEC Freshman of the Year; that went to Vanderbilt's Aubrey Galvan.

Both guards have had terrific seasons. The Commodores finished tied for second in the league, the Sooners were fifth. Vanderbilt won the head-to-head matchup with Oklahoma 102-86 in Nashville, Tennessee, on Feb. 9; Galvan had a season-high 30 points and Chavez 14.

For the 16-game SEC regular season, Chavez averaged 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists, including 26 points and eight assists in the Sooners' victory over regular-season champion South Carolina. Galvan averaged 14.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in SEC play.

USC guard Jazzy Davidson is the other top candidate for national freshman of the year; she won the honor in the Big Ten. For the season, she has averaged 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Her numbers bumped to 18.9, 5.7 and 4.6 in 18 league games as the Trojans, without star JuJu Watkins, finished tied for ninth in the Big Ten.

This was the toughest award for us to choose. The ultimate tiebreaker: Of the projected top 16 seeds in the NCAA tournament, only one has a freshman as its leading scorer: Oklahoma with Chavez (18.4 PPG in 31 games). -- Voepel

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Aaliyah Chavez finishes inside over two defenders

Oklahoma’s Aaliyah Chavez finishes inside for a tough bucket.

Defensive Player of the Year

Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Since this is an award solely about defense, let's imagine if Hidalgo never scored a point or registered an assist. While certainly not the same, it's still an image of a highly impactful player. Hidalgo is as good without the ball as she is with it. Considering her career-high 25.2 points and 5.3 assist per game, that is saying something. Hidalgo is not just a defender. She's a disruptor. Entire offenses get derailed by Hidalgo.

Notre Dame ranks 27th in adjusted defensive efficiency, with just average shot blocking and even worse defensive rebounding. That's because Hidalgo's 5.4 steals per game not only leads the nation but is a full steal better than the next player on the list (Montana State's Taylee Chirrick). Hidalgo's passing lane anticipation is only outdone by her ability to ball hawk a dribbler. A 16-steal game in November against Akron got a lot of attention, but Hidalgo had four games with 10 or more steals this season. The rest of the country combined had four such games. Hidalgo truly stands alone in the thievery department. -- Creme

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Hannah Hidalgo Highlights vs. Syracuse Orange

Hannah Hidalgo Highlights vs. Syracuse Orange

Transfer of the Year

Olivia Miles, TCU

A year ago at this time, we wondered whether Miles would declare for the WNBA draft. Instead, she opted to return for her last college season but leave Notre Dame for TCU. That decision paid off for both the Horned Frogs, who won the Big 12 regular-season title, and Miles, who was the league's player of the year.

Miles said she wanted one more season of collegiate experience and thought TCU coach Mark Campbell's system would help her continue to develop for the WNBA. She led the Frogs in scoring (19.6 PPG), assists (6.4 APG) and steals (1.8 SPG) and averaged 6.9 rebounds. She has five triple-doubles this season and 11 for her college career.

After losing its top four scorers from last season's Elite Eight team, TCU needed a talent infusion that could pick up things quickly. Miles and fellow transfers Marta Suarez (17.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG) and Clara Silva (8.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG) did that this season. -- Voepel

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Olivia Miles scoops and scores for TCU

Olivia Miles gets to the rim and draws the and-1 for TCU.

Coach of the Year

Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt

Ralph, the former UConn standout guard and longtime Huskies assistant coach, has returned Vanderbilt to elite status, including the recruitment of players such as Blakes and Galvan. In her fifth season with the Commodores, Ralph was named SEC Coach of the Year and led them to a tie for second place in the league standings at 13-3 (27-4 overall); both win totals marked the most Vanderbilt has ever had in the regular season.

This will be Vanderbilt's third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament after an eight-year drought. As a projected No. 2 seed, the Commodores have a good opportunity to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2009. -- Voepel

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UCLA routs Iowa for second straight Big Ten title

No. 2 UCLA Bruins defeat No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes 96–45 to capture back-to-back Big Ten titles.

All-Americans

First team

F Sarah Strong, UConn
C Lauren Betts, UCLA
G Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
G Azzi Fudd, UConn
G Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame

Second team

F Madison Booker, Texas
F Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
G Olivia Miles, TCU
G Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State Buckeyes
G Olivia Olson, Michigan Wolverines

Leaving Booker off the first team was the most difficult decision with our All-America teams, especially coming off her MVP performance in the SEC tournament. But if not Booker, which player would come off the first team instead? Strong, Blakes and Betts were easy picks. Hidalgo did have the occasional tough shooting night but might be the best two-way player in the sport, if Strong isn't. Fudd's shooting efficiency from deep is so important to UConn's success and she, too, has become an elite defender. Booker and her 18.9 points per game were certainly deserving. We just ran out of room.

Not including Iowa State's Audi Crooks on either team was another tough decision. Blakes is the only player in the nation who averaged more points per game than Crooks (25.5 PPG).

It's worth noting that seven of the 10 All-Americans are underclassmen. With the healthy return of JuJu Watkins next season, the competition for these spots won't get any easier. -- Creme