Lauren Whittaker Named Semifinalist For Becky Hammon Player of the Year Award

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Gonzaga redshirt freshman Lauren Whittaker has been named a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. 
 
Whittaker, the only freshman among the award’s 10 semifinalists this season, is one of just two freshmen to be named a semifinalist in the award’s history. Meghan Andersen of Fairfield was recognized among the award’s semifinalists as a freshman in 2024. A freshman has never won the award. 

Joining Whittaker on the list of semifinalists is Taylee Chirrick (Montan State), Maggie Doogan (Richmond), Avery Koenen (North Dakota State), Kaety L’Amoreaux (Fairfield), Brooklyn Meyer (South Dakota State), Mia Nicastro (Western Illinois), Nikola Priede (Vermont), Adrianna Smith (Maine) and Hannah Wickstrom (UC Riverside). The five finalists for the award will be announced in early March, with the winner announced around the Final Four.  Whittaker leads the West Coast Conference in scoring (19.1 ppg), rebounding (10.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (.549). She leads all freshmen nationally and is tied for 15th overall with 13 double-doubles on the season. Whittaker is 21st nationally in total points (517) and 26th in the country in points per game. The forward is 13th nationally in total rebounds (273) and 23rd in the country in rebounds per game. Whittaker also ranks 14th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (7.9), 20th in field goals made (192) and 29th in field goal percentage. Whittaker, who was recognized in November as a Kay Yow Servant Leader, ranks in the top three among freshmen nationally in nine categories. Along with double-doubles, she ranks first nationally among freshmen in field goal percentage. The forward ranks second among freshmen nationally in points, points per game, rebounds, defensive rebounds per game and field goals made. She is third among freshmen nationally in free throws made and defensive rebounds.  Whittaker has been named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week 11 times this season. She owns 12 conference weekly awards overall, also earning West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors on Dec. 22. Whittaker was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week on Dec. 23.  Gonzaga’s Yvonne Ejim was the recipient of the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award in 2024 and was a finalist last season. Gonzaga is tied with FGCU for the most semifinalists in the award’s history with four. 

Award Eligibility & Schedule To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, players from Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this year. 

The 25-player preseason watch list was announced in October, and 10 semifinalists will be announced in February. The five finalists will be announced in early March, with the winner announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid, and players may play their way on or off it over the course of the season. 

About Becky Hammon Hammon was a three-time All-American at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program’s only appearance to date. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career. Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016, she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and was named to the W25 in 2021. 

Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Additionally, Hammon is the only woman to be a head coach in the NBA Summer League and the only woman to be a member of an NBA All-Star coaching staff. Currently, Hammon is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and has won the 2022, 2023 and 2025 WNBA Championships. 

About Her Hoop Stats Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women’s basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women’s basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women’s game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram).