A’ja Wilson cleans up All-SEC awards
South Carolina sophomore A’ja Wilson was named SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, capping a season in which she led the league in blocks and finished in the league’s top five in scoring and rebounding.
Wilson, who joked in the preseason that she wanted to win the defensive prize, earned it by averaging more than three blocks a game and she brought the player of the year award to USC for a third straight season.
She’s only the second player to win each award in the same season, and the third sophomore to win SEC Player of the Year. USC is the first team in league history to have three straight SEC Players of the Year.
Teammates Tiffany Mitchell and Alaina Coates, also candidates for player of the year, made the coaches’ all-SEC first team. Mitchell was named to the first team for the third straight year but missed becoming the first three-time SEC Player of the Year in league history. Coates made the first team after being on the second team in the past two years.
Coach Dawn Staley, after guiding a team that dealt with injuries to the second 16-0 season in SEC history, won her third straight SEC Coach of the Year award. She’s the first coach in league history to earn it three years in a row.
The Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992 and had two individual superlatives through 2012. Since 2013, they’ve had 12.
The Associated Press all-SEC awards will be announced in two weeks.
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First-team All-SEC
Shacobia Barbee, Georgia
Alaina Coates, South Carolina
Makayla Epps, Kentucky
Jessica Jackson, Arkansas
Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State
Courtney Walker, Texas A&M
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
Second-team All-SEC
Evelyn Akhator, Kentucky
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Jordan Frericks, Missouri
Tiaria Griffin, Georgia
Jordan Jones, Texas A&M
Janee Thompson, Kentucky
Courtney Williams, Texas A&M
Ronni Williams, Florida
All-defensive team
Shacobia Barbee, Georgia
Dominique Dillingham, Mississippi State
Jordan Jones, Texas A&M
Simone Westbrook, Florida
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
All-freshman team
Eleanna Christinaki, Florida
Te’a Cooper, Tennessee
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Anriel Howard, Texas A&M
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Maci Morris, Kentucky
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
Cierra Porter, Missouri
SEC Player of the Year
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
SEC Freshman of the Year
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
SEC Defensive Player of the Year
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
SEC 6th Woman of the Year
Chelsea Jennings, Texas A&M
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Marjorie Butler, Georgia
SEC Coach of the Year
Dawn Staley, South Carolina
This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 10:14 AM.