A’ja Wilson named SEC Player of the Year
South Carolina has gotten used to this consecutive thing.
Following their fourth consecutive regular-season championship, the Gamecocks had a fourth consecutive SEC Player of the Year chosen on Tuesday. Junior forward A’ja Wilson took the prize for the second year in a row, following the two-year reign of Tiffany Mitchell.
No other school in the SEC has had more than two consecutive Player of the Year winners. The Gamecocks have 13 SEC superlatives since 2013, they had two from 1992-2012.
Wilson and senior center Alaina Coates were named First-Team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Defensive team. Point guard Tyasha Harris was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Wilson has been named one of the SEC’s best in each of her three seasons at USC, taking home Freshman, Player (twice) and Defensive Player of the Year. She led the Gamecocks in scoring this year and was third in the SEC (17.4), while ranking ninth in rebounds (7.6) and third in blocks (2.2).
Coates was named first-team All-SEC after leading the league in rebounding (11.1) and tying for fourth in blocked shots (1.4). Like Wilson, she has been an All-SEC selection every year of her career.
Harris was named to the All-Freshman team after taking over as starting point guard midway through the season. She averaged 3.1 assists per game.
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All SEC
First-Team
- Ronni Williams, Florida
- Evelyn Akhator, Kentucky
- Makayla Epps, Kentucky
- Victoria Vivians, Mississppi State
- Sophie Cunningham, Missouir
- Alaina Coates, South Carolina
- A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
- Diamond DeShields, Tennessee
Second-Team
- Katie Frerking, Auburn
- Pachis Roberts, Georgia
- Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
- Morgan William, Mississippi State
- Jaime Nared, Tennessee
- Mercedes Russell, Tennessee
- Khaalia Hillsman, Texas A&M
- Curtyce Knox, Texas A&M
- Danni Williams, Texas A&M
All-Defensive Team
- Katie Frerking, Auburn
- Caliya Robinson, Georgia
- Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
- Dominique Dillingham, Mississippi State
- Alaina Coates, South Carolina
- A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
All-Freshman Team
- Ashley Knight, Alabama
- Jordan Lewis, Alabama
- Jailyn Mason, Arkansas
- Delicia Washington, Florida
- Amber Smith, Missouri
- Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
- Kayla Overbeck, Vanderbilt
- Erin Whalen, Vanderbilt
Coach of the Year: Robin Pingeton, Missouri
Player of the Year: A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
Co-Freshmen of the Year: Delicia Washington, Florida and Amber Smith, Missouri
Defensive Player of the Year: Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
6th Woman of the Year: Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Katie Frerking, Auburn
This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 9:38 AM with the headline "A’ja Wilson named SEC Player of the Year."