Honoring Excellence: SEC Freshman of the Year Basketball Winners
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) recognizes outstanding first-year basketball players through its Freshman of the Year awards. These awards highlight the remarkable talent and impact of newcomers on their respective teams and the conference as a whole. In women's basketball, the SEC Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year award has been presented since the 1983-84 season, celebrating the most outstanding freshman in the conference. On the men's side, the SEC acknowledges newcomers through two distinct awards: Freshman of the Year (coaches' vote) and Newcomer of the Year (Associated Press).
SEC Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year
The Southeastern Conference women's basketball Freshman of the Year is a basketball award given to the women's basketball player in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) voted as the most outstanding freshman. The award was first given to Katrina McClain of Georgia. Tennessee has the most winners with eight.
Mikayla Blakes: An Example of Excellence
The No. 5/5 Commodores head to Greenville, South Carolina, this week for the 2026 SEC Tournament. Vanderbilt has secured the tournament’s No. Galvan averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the final week of her first collegiate regular season to share SEC Freshman of the Week honors with Oklahoma’s Aalyah Chavez. It is the fourth time this season that Blakes and Galvan have earned SEC weekly honors in the same week, as it previously happened on Jan. 6, Jan. 20 and Feb. Blakes opened her week by scoring 35 points in an 85-60 win against No. 24/23 Alabama to record her fifth-straight 30-point performance against a top-25 team. She is the first SEC player this century to have five games with 30 or more points against ranked foes, while it is the second-most by an NCAA Division I player this season. The guard shot 52.4 percent from the floor and went 6-of-13 from behind the arc, dished out five assists and had four steals vs. Alabama. Blakes capped off the regular season by scoring 34 points at Tennessee to help the Commodores post an 87-77 victory. The guard shot 52.2 percent from the floor in her first visit to Thompson-Boiling Arena and hit six 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. Her 34 points vs. In the win over No. 24/23 Alabama, Galvan contributed a total of 22 points to the Commodores between points and assists. Vanderbilt concluded the 2025-26 regular season with a 27-3 overall record and a 13-3 mark in SEC play. The 27 wins are the most collected in a regular season by Vanderbilt, while it is the fifth-most wins in an overall season in school history. The 13 league wins set the school record for most SEC wins in a season.
Aalyah Chavez: Record-Breaking Performance
Aaliyah Chavez, a freshman guard from Oklahoma, has distinguished herself by earning the SEC Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week title for a record-breaking eighth time. This achievement ties her with Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard (2018-19) for the most freshman weekly awards in SEC history. Chavez's exceptional performance leaves her just one award shy of Courtney Paris’ Oklahoma record for a single season.
Throughout the season, Chavez has consistently demonstrated her scoring prowess, averaging 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.0 steals across Oklahoma’s games. She extended her free throw streak to 49 consecutive makes, setting a new SEC record. Her streak of double-digit scoring reached 23 straight games, including every SEC contest.
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Chavez also led SEC freshmen in scoring during the regular season and is the only freshman nationally averaging at least 18.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. She is one of just two players since 2009 to reach those marks with fewer than 3.0 turnovers per game, joining Paige Bueckers. She also leads all qualifying true freshmen in scoring, her six 25-point games are more than every other SEC freshman combined and her 21 15-point games lead all first-year players.
List of Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year Winners
| Year | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Katrina McClain | Georgia |
| 1985 | Sheila Collins | Tennessee |
| 1986 | Teresa Edwards | Georgia |
| 1987 | Bridgette Gordon | Tennessee |
| 1988 | Sharon Thompson | Alabama |
| 1989 | Dena Head | Tennessee |
| 1990 | Tammy Brown | Kentucky |
| 1991 | Lisia Cole | Georgia |
| 1992 | Lauri Moore | Tennessee |
| 1993 | Shalonda Enis | Alabama |
| 1994 | Michelle Marciniak | Tennessee |
| 1995 | Kiesha Ford | Georgia |
| 1996 | Chamique Holdsclaw | Tennessee |
| 1997 | Karlin Kennedy | Arkansas |
| 1998 | Tamika Catchings | Tennessee |
| 1999 | LaToya Thomas | Mississippi State |
| 2000 | LaToya Thomas | Mississippi State |
| 2001 | Kelly Miller | Georgia |
| 2002 | Shyra Ely | Tennessee |
| 2003 | Seimone Augustus | LSU |
| 2004 | Armintie Price | Ole Miss |
| 2005 | Cori Chambers | Georgia |
| 2006 | Erica De Souza | South Carolina |
| 2007 | Alexis Rack | Mississippi State |
| 2008 | Vicki Baugh | Tennessee |
| 2009 | Kayla Tyes | Kentucky |
| 2010 | C'eria Ricketts | Arkansas |
| 2011 | Meighan Simmons | Texas A&M |
| 2012 | Bashaara Graves | Tennessee |
| 2013 | Betnijah Laney | Rutgers |
| 2014 | Alaina Coates | South Carolina |
| 2015 | Diamond DeShields | Tennessee |
| 2016 | Sophie Cunningham | Missouri |
| 2017 | Jaida Roper | South Carolina |
| 2018 | Rhyne Howard | Kentucky |
| 2019 | Destanni Henderson | South Carolina |
| 2020 | Jordan Horston | Tennessee |
| 2021 | Sarah Ashlee Barker | Georgia |
| 2022 | Aaliyah Nye | Illinois |
| 2023 | Flau'jae Johnson | LSU |
| 2024 | Mikaylah Williams | LSU |
| 2025 | Mikayla Blakes | Vanderbilt |
| 2026 | Aaliyah Chavez | Oklahoma |
SEC Men's Basketball Freshman and Newcomer of the Year
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year is an umbrella name for two awards given to the most outstanding basketball player in his first year at a Southeastern Conference school. One award, voted on and presented by SEC coaches, is currently called Freshman of the Year, and is open only to freshmen (i.e., those who are in their first season of college play, which is usually but not always their first year of college). The other award, presented by the Associated Press, is called Newcomer of the Year, and is open to any player in his first season at an SEC school, including those who transferred to SEC schools.
USBWA National Freshman of the Year
The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) also recognizes outstanding freshmen on a national level. The group names finalists for each award at the end of the regular season. The members then vote for the winners, who are announced at the Final Four of the men's and women's NCAA tournaments.
The men's award is named in honor of Wayman Tisdale, the star power forward who was a three-time consensus first-team All-American at Oklahoma from 1983 to 1985. Tisdale died in 2009 after a two-year bout with cancer. He was 44.
Since the 2020-21 season, the women's award has been named for Tamika Catchings, the legendary Tennessee forward who was a three-time USBWA All-American from 1998 to 2000 and the association's National Freshman of the Year during the Lady Volunteers' national championship-winning campaign in 1997-98.
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USBWA National Freshman of the Year Winners
- 2024-25: Cooper Flagg, Duke (M); Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt (W)
- 2023-24: Reed Sheppard, Kentucky (M); JuJu Watkins, USC (W)
- 2022-23: Brandon Miller, Alabama (M); Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State (W)
- 2021-22: Jabari Smith, Auburn (M); Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (W)
- 2020-21: Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State (M); Caitlin Clark, Iowa, and Paige Bueckers, UConn (W)
- 2019-20: Vernon Carey, Duke (M); Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (W)
- 2018-19: Zion Williamson, Duke (M); Rhyne Howard, Kentucky (W)
- 2017-18: Trae Young, Oklahoma (M); Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M (W)
- 2016-17: Lonzo Ball, UCLA (M); Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (W)
- 2015-16: Ben Simmons, LSU (M); Kristine Anigwe, California (W)
- 2014-15: Jahlil Okafor, Duke (M); Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State (W)
- 2013-14: Jabari Parker, Duke (M); Diamond DeShields, North Carolina (W)
- 2012-13: Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State (M); Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame (W)
- 2011-12: Anthony Davis, Kentucky (M); Elizabeth Williams, Duke (W)
- 2010-11: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State (M); Odyssey Sims, Baylor (W)
- 2009-10: John Wall, Kentucky (M); Brittney Griner, Baylor (W)
- 2008-09: Tyreke Evans, Memphis (M); Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee (W)
- 2007-08: Michael Beasley, Kansas State (M); Maya Moore, UConn (W)
- 2006-07: Kevin Durant, Texas (M); Tina Charles, UConn (W)
- 2005-06: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina (M); Courtney Paris, Oklahoma (W)
- 2004-05: Marvin Williams, North Carolina (M); Candice Wiggins, Stanford, and Tasha Humphrey, Georgia (W)
- 2003-04: Luol Deng, Duke (M); Tiffany Jackson-Jones, Texas (W)
- 2002-03: Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse (M); Seimone Augustus, LSU (W)
- 2001-02: T.J. Ford, Texas (M); Nicole Powell, Stanford (W)
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