A’ja Wilson Named SEC Player of the Year for Second-Straight Season
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – South Carolina junior forward A’ja Wilson earned her second-straight SEC Player of the Year honors from the league coaches today, making her the eighth player overall to collect the honor in back-to-back seasons, stretching the Gamecocks’ streak of winning the award to four consecutive seasons. Senior center Alaina Coates joined Wilson on the All-SEC First Team, and both were on the All-Defensive Team. Point guard Tyasha Harris also picked up recognition from the league’s coaches, earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
With a career-best 10 20-point games this season, Wilson is third in the SEC with a 17.4 scoring average behind 59.1 percent field goal shooting, which ranks 17th in the nation. Her 7.6 rebounds per game are good for ninth in the SEC and she is 33rd in the country with 2.2 blocked shots per game. In leading the Gamecocks to their fourth-straight SEC regular-season championship, Wilson lifted her averages in conference play to 18.2 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 63.5 percent from the field– second best in the league.
Coates became a four-time All-SEC selection and a two-time All-Defensive team choice by the league’s coaches as she leads the SEC in both rebounding and field goal percentage both overall and in league play. Her 11.1 rebounds per game are seventh best in the nation, and she ranks third in the country in field goal percentage. With 15 double-doubles, she stands 11th in the nation in that category.
Freshman Tyasha Harris has been a trailblazer all season, becoming the first freshman starting point guard in head coach Dawn Staley’s career. She earned the job at the start of SEC play and ended the regular season ranked ninth in the league with 3.8 assists per conference game and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4) in SEC games. Her overall assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.12 ranks 54th in the nation. She has eight games of five or more assists, including a career-best eight assists in the regular-season finale against #22/- Kentucky, and has committed more than two turnovers in a game just four times through 28 outings.
The four-time SEC champion Gamecocks hold the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C., this week. Their first game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena will be on Fri., Mar. 3, at noon, against the winner of the Thursday game between eighth-seed Georgia and ninth-seed Auburn.
2017 SEC Individual Awards
Coach of the Year: Robin Pingeton, Missouri
Player of the Year: A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
Co-Freshman of the Year: Delicia Washington, Florida/Amber Smith, Missouri
Defensive Player of the Year: Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
6th Player of the Year: Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Katie Frerking, Auburn
2017 All-SEC First Team
Evelyn Akhator, Kentucky
Alaina Coates, South Carolina
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Diamon DeShields, Tennessee
Makayla Epps, Kentucky
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State
Ronni Williams, Florida
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
2017 All-SEC Second Team
Katie Frerking, Auburn
Khaalia Hillsman, Texas A&M
Curtyce Knox, Texas A&M
Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
Jaime Nared, Tennessee
Pachis Roberts, Georgia
Mercedes Russell, Tennessee
Morgan William, Mississippi State
Danni Williams, Texas A&M
2017 SEC All-Defensive Team
Alaina Coates, South Carolina
Domique Dillingham, Mississippi State
Katie Frerking, Auburn
Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
2017 SEC All-Freshman Team
Ashley Knight, Alabama
Jordan Lewis, Alabama
Jailyn Mason, Arkansas
Delicia Washington, Florida
Amber Smith, Missouri
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Kayla Overbeck, Vanderbilt
Erin Whalen, Vanderbilt
