From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

USBWA National Freshman of the Year

US college basketball award

Field	Value
name	USBWA National
Freshman of the Year
image	Usbwa color.jpg
description	the most outstanding freshman male and female college basketball players
presenter	United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA)
country	United States
year	1989 (men)
1992 (women)
holder	Cooper Flagg, Duke (men)
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt (women)
website

Freshman of the Year 1992 (women) Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt (women) The USBWA National Freshman of the Year is an annual basketball honor given to college basketball's most outstanding freshman male player and female player by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), an association of college basketball journalists. Since 2011 the men's award has been called the Wayman Tisdale Award while the women's award has been called the Tamika Catchings Award since 2020. The award was first given following the 1988–89 season for men and 1991–92 for women.

There has never been a tie for the men's award, but there have been two for the women, with Tasha Humphrey () and Candice Wiggins () sharing the 2004–05 award, and Paige Bueckers (UConn) and Caitlin Clark (Iowa) sharing honors in 2020–21. Five players have been named a national player of the year by receiving one of the major awards for either men or women in the same season as being named the USBWA Freshman of the Year. Among men's players, Kevin Durant (Texas) was the first in 2007, followed by Anthony Davis (Kentucky) in 2012, Zion Williamson (Duke) in 2019, and Cooper Flagg (also of Duke) in 2025. The first woman to receive both honors was Bueckers in 2021.

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 at Oklahoma. The women's award was officially named in honor of Tamika Catchings on October 17, 2019. As a freshman at Tennessee in 1997–98, she averaged 18.2 points for the undefeated national champion Lady Volunteers. Catchings went on to be named a three-time USBWA All-American and the organization's national player of the year in 2000.

Key

*	Awarded a national player of the year award as a freshman:
Men – Sporting News; Oscar Robertson Trophy; Associated Press; NABC; UPI; Naismith; Wooden; Adolph Rupp Trophy; Helms
Women – Associated Press; Naismith; Wooden; WBCA

Winners

Season	Player	School	Position	Reference
1988–89		LSU	PG
1989–90		Georgia Tech	PG
1990–91		Wake Forest	PF	author=	date=2025	title=Men's USBWA Freshman of the Year Winners	url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/awards/men/usbwa-foy.html	website=sports-reference.com	location=	publisher=Sports Reference, LLC	access-date=August 27, 2025}}
1991–92		Michigan	C
1992–93		California	PG
1993–94		Maryland	PF / C
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98		Saint Louis	SG
1998–99			SF / SG
1999–00		Arizona	PG
2000–01			C
2001–02		Texas	PG
2002–03		Syracuse	SF
2003–04		Duke	SF
2004–05		North Carolina	PF
2005–06		North Carolina	PF / C
2006–07	*	Texas	SF
2007–08		Kansas State	PF
2008–09		Memphis	PG
2009–10		Kentucky	PG
2010–11		Ohio State	PF
2011–12	*	Kentucky	C
2012–13		Oklahoma State	PG
2013–14		Duke	SF
2014–15		Duke	C
2015–16		LSU	PG
2016–17		UCLA	PG
2017–18		Oklahoma	PG
2018–19	*	Duke	PF
2019–20		Duke	C
2020–21		Oklahoma State	PG
2021–22		Auburn	PF
2022–23		Alabama	SF
2023–24		Kentucky	SG / PG
2024–25	*	Duke	SG / SF

| | | | |

Season	Player	School	Position	Reference
1988–89	No award
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92			G
1992–93		Ohio State	SG / SF
1993–94		Purdue	F / C
1994–95			SG
1995–96		Tennesse	SF
1996–97			PG
1997–98		Tennessee	SF
1998–99			C
1999–00			F
2000–01			SG / SF
2001–02			F
2002–03			SF
2003–04			F
2004–05†			C	last =	first =	title=Humphrey garners national freshman honor	url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1212415695	newspaper=The Gainesville Times	location=Gainesville, Georgia	date=March 17, 2005	page=13	quote=Humphrey shared the honor with Candice Wiggins of Stanford.	via =Newspapers.com	accessdate = August 27, 2025}}
		PG / SG
2005–06			C
2006–07		UConn	C
2007–08		UConn	PF
2008–09		Tennessee	SF / G
2009–10		Baylor	C
2010–11		Baylor	PG
2011–12			C / PF
2012–13		Notre Dame	PG / SG
2013–14		North Carolina	SG
2014–15		Ohio State	PG / SG
2015–16		California	C / PF
2016–17		Oregon	PG
2017–18		Texas A&M	PG
2018–19		Kentucky	SG
2019–20		South Carolina	PF / C
2020–21†	*	UConn	PG	last =Vann	first =Leah	title=Ladies, the time is now	url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/746937813	newspaper=The Gazette	location=Cedar Rapids, Iowa	date=July 4, 2021	page=P1	via =Newspapers.com	accessdate = August 27, 2025}}
	Iowa	PG
2021–22		DePaul	F
2022–23		Florida State	G
2023–24		USC	SG
2024–25		Vanderbilt	SG

Freshmen are ineligible for the third major player of the year award in women's basketball, the Wade Trophy.
Chris Jackson legally changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1991 upon his conversion to Islam.
No award was presented to the men from 1995 to 1997, although the USBWA website does not indicate the reason.

References

Carlson, Jenni. (March 16, 2011). "Jared Sullinger wins first honor". [[The Oklahoman]].
(October 18, 2019). "USBWA names top freshman award after Catchings". The Mountain Press.
(March 14, 1989). "LSU's Jackson Named USBWA All-American". [[Macon Chronicle-Herald]].
Welch, Chris. (November 11, 1992). "Tide has high hopes with Johnson, 'Yo'". [[The Huntsville Times]].
. (2024). ["USBWA Tamika Catchings Award"](https://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/awards/tamika-catchings-award). *USBWA*.
. (2024). ["USBWA Wayman Tisdale Award"](https://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/awards/wayman-tisdale-award). *USBWA*.
. (2025). ["Men's USBWA Freshman of the Year Winners"](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/awards/men/usbwa-foy.html). *Sports Reference, LLC*.
Kram, Mark. (March 19, 1992). "Seasoned: No first-year jitters for 'Fab Five' as Michigan opens play vs. Owls". [[Philadelphia Daily News]].
Chapin, Dwight. (October 28, 1993). "It's time to step up, Kidd". [[San Francisco Examiner]].
Stratton, Bob. (March 17, 1994). "Extraordinary Joe". [[The Wichita Eagle]].
Eisenbath, Mike. (April 4, 1998). "SLU's Hughes is honored as nation's top freshman – again". [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]].
(March 26, 1999). ""Q" honored again". [[Northwest Herald]].
Pascoe, Bruce. (March 14, 2000). "Gardner gains another honor in first season". [[Arizona Daily Star]].
Sullivan, Tara. (April 4, 2001). "Griffin leaves school to enter NBA draft". [[The Record (North Jersey).
Riggs, Randy. (April 3, 2002). "UT's Ford first freshman to win national assists title". [[Austin American-Statesman]].
Bedore, Gary. (April 7, 2003). "BIG Monday". [[Salina Journal]].
Tysiac, Ken. (June 21, 2006). "Williams plans to give Hansbrough a break". [[The Charlotte Observer]].
(April 11, 2007). "Longhorns' Durant to enter NBA draft; projected as a top-two pick". [[National Post]].
(June 23, 2008). "Beasley adds range to power forward slot". [[Brainerd Dispatch]].
(April 1, 2009). "Evans top frosh". [[Hattiesburg American]].
Dawson, Brett. (March 23, 2010). "Wall named Freshman of Year by writers". [[Courier Journal]].
Latzke, Jeff. (April 17, 2012). "Davis mum about NBA plans". [[Tulsa World]].
(March 14, 2013). "Smart wins Tisdale Award". Tulsa World.
(March 18, 2014). "Parker wins Tisdale Award". [[The News & Observer]].
(March 18, 2015). "Tisdale Award". The News & Observer.
(June 26, 2016). "LSU's Ben Simmons tops 2016 NBA Draft". Abbeville Meridional.
Bolch, Ben. (March 17, 2017). "Ball is the college freshman of the year". [[Los Angeles Times]].
(March 7, 2018). "Sooners' Young wins Tisdale Award". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
(March 28, 2019). "Zion Williamson: Honors". [[The Roanoke Times]].
Unruh, Jacob. (March 24, 2021). "Cowboys' star nets Tisdale Award". The Oklahoman.
(June 22, 2023). "NBA mock draft features deep field, lots of guards". [[South Bend Tribune]].
Taylor, Keith. (March 23, 2024). "Sheppard wins prestigious Tisdale freshman of year award". The Winchester Sun.
(March 26, 2025). "Flagg wins double honor". Arizona Daily Star.
Katz, Marc. (April 5, 1993). "Freshman update". [[Dayton Daily News]].
Carmin, Mike. (April 7, 1994). "Boilers find room for improvement". [[Journal & Courier]].
(March 15, 1995). "Lobo named player of year". [[The Montana Standard]].
Patrick, Dick. (April 2, 1996). "Holdsclaw ends first season on right foot". [[USA Today]].
(September 4, 1997). "Ralph will miss season". [[The Bulletin (Norwich).
Kent, Milton. (March 30, 1998). "Lady Vols hit the three, routing La. Tech, 93–75". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
(December 20, 1999). "Lady Flames to face UNLV in Bahamas". [[The News & Advance]].
(March 24, 2000). "Whaley honored". The Oklahoman.
(March 24, 2001). "Beard to shadow Stiles". [[The Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina).
Miller, Forrest. (April 8, 2002). "Freshman Batteast's excellence moves to national stage". South Bend Tribune.
(March 15, 2003). "National writers pass honors along to Taurasi, Auriemma". [[The Day (New London).
(April 2, 2004). "Ohlde earns USBWA honor". Salina Journal.
(March 17, 2005). "Humphrey garners national freshman honor". [[The Gainesville Times (Georgia).
(April 2, 2006). "OU's Paris named freshman of the year". [[Sapulpa Herald]].
(March 30, 2007). "Parker Honors". [[Knoxville News Sentinel]].
(April 4, 2008). "Auriemma, Moore Honored By USBWA". [[Hartford Courant]].
Fleser, Dan. (April 2, 2009). "Stricklen named national freshman of year". Knoxville News Sentinel.
(April 4, 2010). "Baylor: Stockpile of talent has Bears hungry for more". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].
Cherry, Brice. (April 4, 2011). "BU's Sims makes final cut for USA trip to China". [[Waco Tribune-Herald]].
(March 29, 2012). "Duke's Williams named nation's top freshman". The Herald-Sun.
(April 5, 2013). "Freshman of the Year". South Bend Tribune.
Carter, Andrew. (April 18, 2014). "Freshman of the year DeShields to leave UNC". The Charlotte Observer.
Cloninger, David. (June 16, 2015). "Staley will start eighth season against Ohio State". [[The Herald (Rock Hill).
(June 16, 2015). "Cal's Anigwe honored". [[Oakland Tribune]].
Fulkerson, Vickie. (April 1, 2017). "Ditto". The Day.
Fulkerson, Vickie. (March 31, 2018). "And more". The Day.
(April 6, 2018). "Rhyne Howard Named USBWA National Freshman of the Year". [[The Advocate-Messenger]].
Hadley, Greg. (March 26, 2020). "South Carolina coach, freshman earn national honors". [[Anderson Independent-Mail]].
Vann, Leah. (July 4, 2021). "Ladies, the time is now". [[The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa).
Monkarsh, Julia. (April 3, 2023). "Lady 'Noles showered with recognitions". [[Tallahassee Democrat]].
(April 29, 2024). "Former Stanford standout Iriafen transferring to USC". Los Angeles Times.
Morris, Alaina. (July 28, 2025). "Standout Blakes is having an offseason to remember". [[The Tennessean]].
Vanoni, Maggie. (November 12, 2024). "UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers named to 2025 Wade Trophy watch list". Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC.
Latimer, Clay. (August 10, 1991). "Friends upset over Jackson's switch to Islam". [[Press-Register]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

college-men's-basketball-national-player-awards-in-the-united-states college-women's-basketball-national-player-awards-in-the-united-states college-sports-freshman-awards awards-established-in-1989

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about USBWA National Freshman of the Year — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report