As the 2025-26 women's college basketball season draws to a close, ESPN has unveiled its end-of-season awards, highlighting standout performances amid a year marked by UConn's undefeated run and unexpected rises by programs like Vanderbilt. At the forefront is UConn forward Sarah Strong, named Player of the Year after leading the Huskies to a perfect 34-0 record heading into the NCAA tournament selection show on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Strong's dominance on both ends of the court edged out Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes, who mounted a strong challenge with a record-breaking sophomore campaign.
Strong, a key contributor to UConn's 12th NCAA title the previous season, has been the driving force behind the team's average margin of victory of 38.4 points this year. Her stats—18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game, shot on 60.1% from the field and 42.7% from three-point range—tell only part of the story. Playing just 26.4 minutes per game, Strong often sat out the fourth quarter as her team pulled away early. In UConn's seven nonconference games against top-30 NET-ranked opponents, she elevated her game to 21.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.7 steals, shooting 57.4% from the field.
ESPN's Mechelle Voepel and Michael Voepel noted Strong's intangible qualities in their analysis. "The numbers are only part of the story with Strong," they wrote. "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." They praised her understanding of spacing, game feel, and unselfish play, adding that UConn coach Geno Auriemma has urged her to score more, yet she remains the centerpiece of the offense. Defensively, Strong anchors the nation's top-rated defense, though she fell just short of the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Challenging Strong for the top honor was Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, whose exceptional season made the Player of the Year race a genuine debate. Blakes averaged 30.5 points per game in SEC regular-season play, earning her league Player of the Year honors. Under coach Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt exceeded preseason expectations, picked eighth in the SEC coaches' poll but finishing tied for second at 13-3 in conference (27-4 overall). The Commodores' turnaround marks their third straight NCAA tournament appearance after an eight-year absence, positioning them as a projected No. 2 seed with potential to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2009.
Blakes' impact was immediate and profound, but ESPN ultimately sided with Strong's all-around dominance. "Blakes has had a season for the ages. But Strong is just too dominant in too many different ways," analyst Graham Creme concluded. Blakes joins Strong on the All-America first team, alongside UCLA center Lauren Betts, UConn guard Azzi Fudd, Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo, and Texas forward Madison Booker.
In the freshman class, Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez claimed national Freshman of the Year honors, despite an unusual snub in her own conference. Chavez tied an SEC record with eight Freshman of the Week awards, led all league freshmen in scoring, and earned second-team All-SEC honors—the only freshman to do so. Yet, the SEC named Vanderbilt's Aubrey Galvan as its Freshman of the Year. Chavez averaged 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 16 SEC games, including a standout 26 points and eight assists in Oklahoma's win over regular-season champion South Carolina.
Galvan, meanwhile, posted 14.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in SEC play, with a season-high 30 points in Vanderbilt's 102-86 victory over Oklahoma on February 9 in Nashville, Tennessee, where Chavez scored 14. Both players had strong seasons, but ESPN's Voepel highlighted Chavez's role as Oklahoma's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game across 31 contests—the only projected top-16 NCAA seed with a freshman topping its scoring chart. "This was the toughest award for us to choose," Voepel wrote. "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."
USC's Jazzy Davidson emerged as another top freshman contender, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year with averages of 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists overall, improving to 18.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 18 league games. Despite the Trojans' tie for ninth in the Big Ten without injured star JuJu Watkins, Davidson's contributions kept USC competitive.
On defense, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo was named Defensive Player of the Year for her disruptive presence. Averaging 25.2 points and 5.3 assists offensively, Hidalgo's defensive prowess includes a nation-leading 5.4 steals per game— a full steal ahead of Montana State's Taylee Chirrick. She recorded four games with 10 or more steals, including a 16-steal performance against Akron in November, while the rest of the country combined for just four such games. Notre Dame ranks 27th in adjusted defensive efficiency, bolstered by Hidalgo's anticipation in passing lanes and ball-hawking ability.
"Hidalgo is not just a defender. She's a disruptor. Entire offenses get derailed by Hidalgo," Creme observed. Even imagining Hidalgo without her scoring or assists, her impact remains immense, making her as effective without the ball as with it.
The Transfer of the Year award went to TCU guard Olivia Miles, who returned for a final college season after considering the WNBA draft and transferring from Notre Dame. Miles led the Horned Frogs to the Big 12 regular-season title, earning league Player of the Year honors with 19.6 points, 6.4 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. She notched five triple-doubles this season, bringing her career total to 11.
Miles credited the move to TCU coach Mark Campbell's system for her development. "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," Voepel reported. Alongside transfers Marta Suarez (17.2 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Clara Silva (8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds), Miles revitalized a TCU squad that lost its top four scorers from last year's Elite Eight team.
Coaching accolades went to Vanderbilt's Shea Ralph, named SEC Coach of the Year in her fifth season with the Commodores. A former UConn standout and longtime Huskies assistant, Ralph has recruited talents like Blakes and Galvan, leading Vanderbilt to its most regular-season wins ever at 27-4. "Ralph, the former UConn standout guard and longtime Huskies assistant coach, has returned Vanderbilt to elite status," Voepel noted.
ESPN's All-America teams underscore the youth movement in the sport, with seven of the 10 first- and second-team selections being underclassmen. The first team includes Strong, Betts, Blakes, Fudd, and Hidalgo. Second-team honorees are Booker, South Carolina's Joyce Edwards, TCU's Miles, Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge, and Michigan's Olivia Olson. Texas' Booker, fresh off an SEC tournament MVP, averaged 18.9 points but was edged out of the first team due to stiff competition. Iowa State's Audi Crooks, averaging 25.5 points—second only to Blakes nationally—was also a close call but didn't make either team.
"Leaving Booker off the first team was the most difficult decision with our All-America teams," Creme explained. "But if not Booker, which player would come off the first team instead? Strong, Blakes and Betts were easy picks." Hidalgo's two-way excellence and Fudd's elite shooting and defense for UConn were deemed indispensable.
With automatic bids still being decided this week and the NCAA bracket reveal imminent, these awards set the stage for a tournament featuring powerhouses like undefeated UConn and resurgent Vanderbilt. The return of USC's JuJu Watkins next season, absent this year due to a knee injury, promises even fiercer competition for individual honors. As the postseason unfolds, players like Strong and Blakes will aim to translate their regular-season success into March Madness glory, potentially adding national titles to their resumes.