INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Florida State guard Ta'Niya Latson, the ACC Rookie of the Year and the nation's 11th-leading scorer, has won the 2022-23 Tamika Catchings Award as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's National Freshman Player of the Year.
Latson will formally receive the award at the upcoming USBWA College Basketball Awards Banquet in St. Louis on April 12, hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club. The USBWA has presented a women's National Freshman Player of the Year Award since the 1991-92 season. Two seasons ago, the award was named in honor of Tennessee legend Tamika Catchings, the USBWA's 1997-98 national freshman of the year and a three-time All-American. DePaul's Aneesah Morrow won the award last season.
Latson, a 5-8 guard from Miami, earned honorable mention on the USBWA All-America Team. A record ten times she was named the ACC's Rookie of the Week and earned the USBWA's National Freshman Player of the Week honor the week of Feb. 22.
After Latson led the Seminoles to a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament with the third-most points in a single season at Florida State (659), the 'Noles' season ended with a first-round loss to Georgia, the second straight game she missed due to injury.
Latson is the first freshman to lead the ACC in scoring and leads all national freshmen in scoring (21.3 points per game). She added 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 31 games played. Her 85.9 percent free-throw shooting was the second-best in a single season at Florida State. And, with her leading a high-scoring offense, the Seminoles won 12 ACC games, most since the 2017-18 season.
In one stretch this season, Latson had 14 straight 20-point games, the most ever by a Division I women's freshman player and second-most among men and women to Trae Young at Oklahoma (18) in 2017-18.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485. For additional info about covering the awards banquet, contact Jim Wilson with the MAC (314-539-4488).