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HOPEWELL, N.J. — Gonzaga’s Yvonne Ejim has been named a finalist for the Becky Hammon Player of the Year Award and is one of five players in the country on the list.
The finalists represent five teams and four conferences, featuring three first-time finalists. Ejim earns her third finalist nod, becoming the first three-time finalist in the award’s six-year history. Harmoni Turner becomes the fourth different Ivy League player to be named a finalist, surpassing the Summit League and WCC for the most in the award’s history.
Becky Hammon Player of the Year Finalists
Katie Dinnebier, Drake
Megan McConnell, Duquesne
Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Harmoni Turner, Harvard
Laura Ziegler, Saint Joseph’s
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 are ineligible this year as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves.
The 25-player preseason watch list was announced in October, and 15 midseason watch list members were announced in January. The 10 semifinalists were announced in February, with the winner scheduled to be announced on April 2. 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 recently named to the W25. 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 won the 2022 and 2023 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).
