Kierstan Bell Named 2022 Becky Hammon Award Winner

FGCU junior guard named the third winner of award for the nation's top player in a mid-major conference.

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HOPEWELL, N.J. (April 7, 2021) —  Her Hoop Stats is proud to announce that FGCU junior guard Kierstan Bell has been named the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year presented by Her Hoop Stats. The award, which is in its third season, recognizes the best mid-major player in the country.

Bell, who also won the award in 2021, averaged 23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game (all stats against Division I only). Since the 2009-10 season, that combination has not been accomplished by any other player. 

On a per-minute basis, Bell was among the most efficient players in the country. Her Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 38.7 ranks ninth in Division I while her 0.40 Win Shares per 40 minutes ranks 30th. The junior guard’s 31.1 points per 40 minutes played ranks first in the nation.

Bell’s usage rate of 38.0% led the nation, while her 1.02 points per play ranks 111th in the country. Since 2009-10, Bell is one of just three players to post a usage rate of at least 38.0% while averaging at least 1.0 points per play with 500 or more minutes played.

This season, Bell led the FGCU Eagles to a 30-3 record including a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Eagles lost just two games that Bell played in. Bell announced earlier this season that she will be entering the 2022 WNBA Draft, and many are projecting her to be an early first-round pick.

Bell transferred to FGCU after her freshman year playing for Ohio State after being recruited as the No. 8 player in ESPN’s 2019 class rankings. Prior to her collegiate career, Bell became the first three-time recipient of Ms. Basketball in Ohio, joining LeBron James as the only other player to be named Ms. or Mr. Basketball three times in the state.

Award Eligibility

To be eligible for the 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. Players are selected based on their on-court production in the 2021-22 NCAA 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).