USBWA 2022-23 Season News

A three-time All-American and one of the most prolific scorers in the Big Ten and the nation, Iowa guard Caitlin Clark has lit up scoreboards and electrified crowds with her all-around play throughout the season. The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year’s historic season that has led Iowa to its second Final Four has earned Clark being selected as the winner of the 2022-23 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the USBWA National Player of the Year.

Uniting the legacies of two fierce rivals who became close friends, former Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has been named the recipient of the 2022-23 Dean Smith Award by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, recognizing an individual in basketball who embodies the spirit and values of the late Coach Smith.

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Coaching her trademark shutdown defense with a roster that includes two All-Americans, South Carolina's Dawn Staley is the USBWA National Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and third time in four seasons. Staley led the Gamecocks (34-0) to the SEC regular-season and tournament titles as they went the entire season ranked in the top spot of the Associated Press poll, only the third program to ever accomplish it.

Marquette head coach Shaka Smart led the Golden Eagles to a school-record 29 wins and their first Big East outright and tournament titles this season. For his guiding his team to a record-setting conference win count and into the NCAA Tournament, Smart has been named the winner of the 2022-23 Henry Iba Award, given annually by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to its national coach of the year.

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.

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Alabama forward Brandon Miller, the SEC Player and Freshman of the Year whose three-point shooting and rebounding helped lead Alabama to a conference title and the NCAA Tournament's top seed, has won the 2022-23 Wayman Tisdale Award as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's National Freshman Player of the Year.

In an evening of basketball legends hosted by the Greensboro Sports Council, Bob McKillop and Tubby Smith will be honored with the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Dean Smith Award, recognizing an individual in basketball who embodies the spirit and values of the late Coach Smith. McKillop, who won in 2019, and Smith, who won in 2021, will be presented with their awards at the Tanger Center for the Performing Arts at 300 N. Elm Street in Greensboro. A fireside chat with the legendary coaches will follow. The awards presentation is set for Tuesday, April 11 at 6 p.m ET.

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – A three-time All-American, three repeat members, last year’s Oscar Robertson Trophy winner and four players from the Big Ten are all members of the 2022-23 U.S. Basketball Writers Association's All-America Team. The 15-man team includes a member from each of the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seeds, seven players who were their conference players of the year, four players who were USBWA district players of the year, two of the country's top eight scorers and four of the top seven rebounders.

Eight returning All-Americans including the nation’s leading scorer and assists leaders and six conference players of the year headline the 2022-23 U.S. Basketball Writers Association Women's All-America Team. There are 13 different schools represented on the 15-player team that for the second consecutive season has top-ranked and overall No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed South Carolina and Stanford each earning claiming two selections.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has released its 2022-23 Men's All-District Teams, based on voting from its national membership. The USBWA has selected All-District teams since the 1956-57 season, its founding year.

The 2023 inductees of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Hall of Fame are considered pioneers, mentors and exemplary examples of basketball journalism among their peers. M.A. Voepel of ESPN and Carl Adamec of the Manchester (Conn.) Journal-Inquirer will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame at the USBWA Awards Brunch at 10 a.m. central time on Friday, March 31 at the Omni Dallas Hotel. Seth Davis of The Athletic and CBS Sports, Bob Logan of the Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune, Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News and AL.com, Lesley Visser of the Boston Globe and CBS Sports, and Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and FOX Sports will be honored at the USBWA Awards Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. central time on Monday, April 3 at the Marriott Marquis Houston. Logan and Wahl will be honored posthumously.

The Associated Press Sports Editors, U.S. Basketball Writers Association and Association for Women in Sports Media object to Big 12 Conference commissioner Brett Yormark’s response to our previous outreach regarding the abandonment of industry-standard media-seating practices at the conference men’s basketball tournament in Kansas City.

In recognition of his long service to the game of women’s basketball, Duke’s Lindy Brown has been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Mary Jo Haverbeck Award winner for 2023. He will be presented the award at the Final Four in Dallas.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected 15 standout players for its 2022-23 Oscar Robertson Trophy Late Season Watch List. Members of the association's board of directors chose the players that will be considered as contenders for the National Player of the Year.

Representing all of their peers across college basketball who have struggled with mental health, Saint Louis’ Terrence Hargrove and Utah State’s Connor Odom will share the 2023 Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award. Both have been open about the issues they have faced, helping create a dialogue about the challenges shared by many other athletes. Hargrove and Odom will be honored at the upcoming Men’s Final Four in Houston.

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 26.

For the season’s 12th and final weekly women’s awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, for games ending Sunday, Feb. 26, South Carolina guard Zia Cooke is the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week, Notre Dame guard KK Bransford is the Tamika Catchings freshman recipient, and Iowa is the National Team of the Week.

Representing all of her peers across college basketball who have struggled with mental health, Little Rock's Angelique Francis is the winner of the 2023 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award. Francis has been open about the issues she has faced, helping create a dialogue about the challenges shared by many other athletes. Francis will be honored at the upcoming Women’s Final Four in Dallas.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association is pleased to honor Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal with the Jim O’Connell Award for beat writing excellence, while Joel Lorenzi of the Omaha World-Herald and Cora Hall of the Knoxville News-Sentinel are the Rising Star winners in men’s and women’s basketball.

For the season’s eleventh weekly women’s awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, for games ending Sunday, Feb. 19, Arizona guard Shaina Pellington is Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week, Florida State guard Ta’Niya Latson is the Tamika Catchings freshman recipient, and Little Rock is the National Team of the Week.