Country United States | First awarded 1983 | |
Awarded for the most outstanding basketball player in the Big Ten Conference Presented by Big Ten head coaches (1983–present)
Big Ten media (1996–present) Currently held by Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State | ||
The Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Big Ten Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the Big Ten's first full season of women's basketball in 1982–83 (although the conference held its first postseason tournament the previous season). The league's head coaches have presented the award since 1983; media members who cover Big Ten women's basketball began presenting their own version of the award in 1996.
Eight players have won the award multiple times. Six players have won twice: Anucha Browne of Northwestern (1984, 1985), Tracey Hall of Ohio State (1986, 1987), Katie Douglas of Purdue (2000, 2001), Kelly Mazzante of Penn State (2003, 2004), Maggie Lucas of Penn State (2013, 2014), and Kelsey Mitchell of Ohio State (2015, 2017). Jessica Davenport of Ohio State is the only player to have been the unanimous winner of three awards (2005–2007). Another Ohio State player, Jantel Lavender, is the only four-time winner (2008–2011), although only the 2009 and 2010 awards were unanimous (she won the coaches' award in 2008 and the media award in 2011).
Two players have won a major national player of the year award in the same season in which they won the Big Ten award. Carol Ann Shudlick of Minnesota won the Wade Trophy along with the Big Ten award in 1994, and Stephanie White of Purdue won the same two awards in 1999.
The coaches and media have split their honors five times in all, with the most recent being 2015, when Mitchell won the coaches' award and Amanda Zahui B. of Minnesota won the media award.
Ohio State has the record for the most awards with 14, and the most individuals who have won the award, with seven. Of current Big Ten Conference members, four schools have never had a winner: long-established members Indiana and Michigan, and the two schools that joined the conference in 2014, Maryland and Rutgers.