2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year presented by Her Hoop Stats Semifinalists

10 players named semifinalists for the third-annual Becky Hammon Award presented by Her Hoop Stats

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Hopewell, N.J. (Feb. 23, 2022)–We are proud to announce the 10 semifinalists for the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, with South Dakota’s Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner. FGCU’s Kierstan Bell won the award in 2021. This year’s semifinalists include representatives from 10 schools and 10 conferences.

Below are the 10 semifinalists, listed in alphabetical order by school. Stats are through Feb. 21 and only include games against other Division I opponents.

Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo, G, Jr.
2021-22 Stats: 23.8 PPG, 4.2 APG, 2.0 SPG

Fair set an incredible bar in her freshman year, finishing the season ranked fourth in the country in points, while also ranking 22nd in steals and 206th in assists. Fair has kept up that level of performance through her junior season and is the only player to make all three semifinalist lists in the history of this award.

Shaylee Gonzales, BYU, G, So.
2021-22 Stats: 18.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.3 SPG

Gonzales has been the driving force behind BYU’s rise into national awareness thanks to her improvements as a scorer and distributor. Through Feb. 21, she ranks in the top 100 for points, assists, and steals per game. BYU is currently a 5-seed according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme and may be poised for a deep run with just two losses so far this season.

Jasmine Dickey, Delaware, G/F, Sr.
2021-22 Stats: 25.4 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.1 BPG

In terms of pure volume of production, very few players in the country rival Dickey’s stat line for Delaware. Dickey currently ranks third in the country in scoring, including third on two-point makes and tops in the nation in free throw makes per game. Plus, throw in 3.5 offensive boards (44th in Division I), 6.0 defensive rebounds (98th nationally), and her top-100 ranking in steals and blocks per game.

Kierstan Bell, FGCU, G, Jr.
2021-22 Stats: 24.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.4 BPG

Bell, the reigning Hammon Award winner, hasn’t played in a little over a month, but the latest reports indicate she will likely be back for postseason play. In her 14 appearances this season, Bell ranks fourth in the country in scoring, 12th in rebounding average, and 104th in blocks per game. The Eagles have held their own in her absence, but if she can get back to full strength FGCU will be a dangerous team come March.

Macee Williams, IUPUI, F/C, Sr.
2021-22 Stats: 18.3 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.1 APG

Williams is one of the most efficient volume scorers in the nation, one of just five players to average 18.0 or more points with a 1.25 PPSA or better. Of those five, Williams is the only one with at least 10.0 rebounds per game. Michigan can attest to how dangerous of a team IUPUI can be, and Williams is the largest piece to their success.

Sam Breen, Massachusetts, F, Gr.
2021-22 Stats: 16.8 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.0 APG

ESPN’s bracketology has Breen and UMass on the outside looking in right now, meaning winning the very strong A-10 conference tournament is likely the only route to the NCAA Tournament. But when you have a player who can control a game as well as Breen–who ranks in the top 10 in A-10 play in points, rebounds, assists, and steals–anything can happen.

Katelyn Young, Murray St., F, So.
2021-22 Stats: 20.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.8 APG

Young ranks 13th nationally in PPSA at 1.35 and 24th in scoring, making her one of only two players in the country with that combination of stats. If you add her 0.8 blocks per contest, Young becomes the only player on the list.

Abby Meyers, Princeton, G, Sr.
2021-22 Stats: 18.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.7 APG

Meyers has been the go-to scorer for a Princeton team with just four losses–three to likely NCAA Tournament teams–that is projected as a 10-seed according to Charlie Creme. On a per-minute basis, Meyers ranks 19th in scoring nationally with 25.7 points per 40 minutes.

Stephanie Visscher, Stephen F. Austin, G, Sr.
2021-22 Stats: 14.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.8 SPG

Visscher is the defensive anchor for Stephen F. Austin, the 16th-best defense in the nation according to the HHS Defensive Rating. Visscher is one of just three players nationally to average 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.

Meral Abdelgawad, Western Kentucky, G, Sr.
2021-22 Stats: 19.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.2 SPG

Abdelgawad has taken a much larger role in the offense this season, bumping her scoring average from 10.6 in 2020-21 up to 19.8. What makes this jump even more impressive is that her efficiency has jumped significantly even with this increase in volume. Abdelgawad’s PPSA is up to 1.23 (99th nationally) after finishing last season at 1.02 (985th nationally).

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, Pac-12, and SEC. In October, 25 players were named to the preseason watch list. The 15-player midseason watch list was announced in January, and the five finalists will be announced in early March. The winner will be announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.

About Becky Hammon

Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career 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 as well as 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.

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, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).