Women’s college basketball player of year picks for every conference

The transfer portal, conference realignment and the extra seasons granted to players by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic have completely changed the women’s college basketball landscape. The conference player of the year races, especially in smaller leagues and mid-majors, are one of the areas most impacted. In some leagues, the reigning winner is back for a fifth or even sixth season. And in some conferences, the strongest challenger might be a once highly rated recruit who is now settling into her third school far from the spotlight of a Power 5.

The national player of the year chase looks like it should break down much like last season, with front-runner Aliyah Boston of the South Carolina Gamecocks and Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes closely matched, but a distance ahead of the rest of the pack.

Predicting each conference player of the year is far more difficult. Let this serve as a guide to all of the personnel changes across college basketball and who might emerge as the best of the best in each league for the 2022-23 season.

Navigate to each league:

American | America East | ACC | Atlantic Sun | A-10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Sky | Big South | Big Ten | Big West | CAA | C-USA | Horizon | Ivy | MAAC | MAC | MEAC | MVC | MW | NEC | OVC | Pac-12 | Patriot | SEC | SoCon | Southland | SWAC | Summit | Sun Belt | WCC | WAC

American Athletic Conference

Elena Tsineke, 5-foot-9, G, South Florida Bulls

The native of Greece was the AAC’s Freshman of the Year and was first-team all-conference her sophomore and junior seasons. This should be the next step in a conference the Bulls are heavily favored to win. Tsineke was third in the AAC in scoring (14.3 PPG) as a junior and was the league’s best free throw shooter (83.7%).

Top competition: Savannah Wilkinson, 6-0, F, SMU Mustangs

Her 14 double-doubles led the conference and helped get the Mustangs to the postseason (WNIT first round) for the first time since 2017.

America East

Anne Simon, 5-8, G, Maine Black Bears

As league leader in scoring (16.0 PPG) and steals (2.8 SPG), it’s not surprising that Simon was the America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. It’s even less surprising she is the favorite for both awards again. Heading into her fourth season, Simon has already led the Black Bears to 35 total wins, two regular-season championships and one tournament title.

Top competition: Kayla Cooper, 6-0, G, Albany Great Danes

One of the conference’s best rebounders and the Most Outstanding Player of the America East tournament, Cooper could be ready for a breakout in her junior season.

ACC

Elizabeth Kitley, 6-6, C, Virginia Tech Hokies

Losing to FGCU in the first round of the NCAA tournament was not how Kitley wanted to end one of the best seasons in Virginia Tech history, but her 42-point performance was the perfect indicator for just how…