Country United States | Official website Website | |
Awarded for the most outstanding freshmen male and female college basketball players Presented by United States Basketball Writers Association First awarded 1989 (men)
2003 (women) Currently held by Lonzo Ball, UCLA (male)
Kristine Anigwe, California (female) | ||
The USBWA National Freshman of the Year, the men's version of which is named the Wayman Tisdale Award, is an annual basketball award given to college basketball's two most outstanding male and female freshman players by the United States Basketball Writers Association, an association of college basketball journalists. The award was first given following the 1988–89 season for men, while the 2002–03 season marked the first season for the women's award.
There has never been a tie for the men's award but there has been one for the women, when Tasha Humphrey of Georgia and Candice Wiggins of Stanford shared the 2004–05 award. Only two players—male or female—were also named the National Player of the Year (by receiving the Naismith, Wooden awards and/or Wade Trophy) in the same season as being named the USBWA Freshman of the Year: Kevin Durant of Texas in 2006–07 and Anthony Davis of Kentucky in 2011–12. Chris Jackson and Seimone Augustus, the two inaugural award winners for the men and women, respectively, were coincidentally both players at LSU.
On July 26, 2010, the USBWA announced that they would rename the men's National Freshman of the Year award after the late Wayman Tisdale, who in 1983 was named a first team All-American as a freshman.