Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year
The Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Mountain West Conference's (MW) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1999–2000 season, the first of the conference's existence. As of 2022, no MW player has received any national player of the year award.
| Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Most outstanding basketball player in the Mountain West Conference |
| Country | United States |
| History | |
| First award | 2000 |
| Most recent | Desi-Rae Young, UNLV |
Utah has the most awards with eight and individual recipients with five, but the Utes left the MW in 2011 to join what is now the Pac-12 Conference. Among current members, UNLV has the most awards with four, followed by Colorado State with three. However, both schools have had two individual recipients, as have Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, and Wyoming, as well as former members BYU and TCU. Two players have shared the award on five occasions—in 2001, consecutively from 2005 to 2007, and also in 2015. Three players have won the award more than once. Ellen Nystrom of Colorado State won in 2016 and 2017; Linda Fröhlich of UNLV won the award outright in 2000 and 2002 and shared it in 2001; and Kim Gaucher (née Smith) of Utah won four times—outright in 2003 and 2004, and shared in 2005 and 2006.
Key
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: the Naismith College Player of the Year, Wade Trophy or the John R. Wooden Award |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Mountain West Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class | Reference[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Linda Fröhlich | UNLV | F | Sophomore | |
| 2000–01† | Amy Ewert | Utah | G/F | Senior | |
| Linda Fröhlich (2) | UNLV | F | Junior | ||
| 2001–02 | Linda Fröhlich (3) | UNLV | F | Senior | |
| 2002–03 | Kim Smith | Utah | F | Freshman | |
| 2003–04 | Kim Smith (2) | Utah | F | Sophomore | |
| 2004–05† | Kim Smith (3) | Utah | F | Junior | |
| Shona Thorburn | Utah | G | Junior | ||
| 2005–06† | Ambrosia Anderson | BYU | F | Senior | |
| Kim Smith (4) | Utah | F | Senior | ||
| 2006–07† | Dani Kubik-Wright | BYU | C | Senior | |
| Adrianne Ross | TCU | G | Junior | ||
| 2007–08 | Leilani Mitchell | Utah | G | Senior | |
| 2008–09 | Morgan Warburton | Utah | G | Senior | |
| 2009–10 | Helena Sverrisdóttir | TCU | G/F | Junior | |
| 2010–11 | Aubrey Vandiver | Wyoming | G | Senior | |
| 2011–12 | Courtney Clements | San Diego State | G | Junior | |
| 2012–13 | Chelsea Hopkins | San Diego State | G | Senior | |
| 2013–14 | Jennifer Schlott | Utah State | G | Senior | |
| 2014–15† | Gritt Ryder | Colorado State | G | Senior | |
| Alex Sheedy | Fresno State | F | Senior | ||
| 2015–16 | Ellen Nystrom | Colorado State | G | Junior | |
| 2016–17 | Ellen Nystrom (2) | Colorado State | G | Senior | |
| 2017–18 | Liv Roberts | Wyoming | G | Senior | |
| 2018–19 | Jaisa Nunn | New Mexico | C | Senior | |
| 2019–20 | Maddi Utti | Utah State | F | Junior | |
| 2020–21 | Haley Cavinder | Fresno State | G | Sophomore | [1] |
| 2021–22 | Desi-Rae Young | UNLV | C | Sophomore | [2] |
- Except as indicated otherwise, all references are from the 2020–21 MW women's basketball record book, cited in the "References" section.
Winners by school
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Utah (1999)[a 1] | 8 | 2001†, 2003, 2004, 2005 (×2)†, 2006†, 2008, 2009 |
| UNLV (1999) | 4 | 2000, 2001†, 2002, 2022 |
| BYU (1999)[a 2] | 3 | 2003, 2006†, 2007† |
| Colorado State (1999) | 3 | 2015†, 2016, 2017 |
| Fresno State (2012) | 2 | 2015†, 2021 |
| San Diego State (1999) | 2 | 2012, 2013 |
| TCU (2005)[a 3] | 2 | 2007†, 2010 |
| Utah State (2013) | 2 | 2014, 2020 |
| Wyoming (1999) | 2 | 2011, 2018 |
| New Mexico (1999) | 1 | 2019 |
| Air Force (1999) | 0 | — |
| Boise State (2011) | 0 | — |
| Nevada (2012) | 0 | — |
| San Jose State (2013) | 0 | — |
Footnotes
- Utah left in 2011 to join what is now the Pac-12 Conference.
- BYU left in 2011 to join the West Coast Conference, and is scheduled to join the Big 12 Conference in 2023.
- TCU left in 2012 to join the Big 12 Conference.
References
- Winners through 2019–20: "2020–21 Mountain West Women's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Mountain West Conference. pp. 80–84. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- "Mountain West Announces 2020-21 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 7, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- "Mountain West Announces 2021-22 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team and Individual Awards" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.