SIOUX FALLS South Dakota State women’s basketball came away with three major awards and six total individuals with recognition Thursday as the Summit League released its year-end awards. In a vote by the League’s head coaches, athletic communication directors and select media members,Brooklyn Meyer was named the Summit League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while Aaron Johnston was named Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season.
Paige Meyer, Madison Mathiowetz, Tori Nelson and Jenna Hopp were also recognized.
SophomoreBrooklyn Meyer was named both the Summit League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 18.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 64.8 percent from the field. The forward is one of two players in the country to score at least 18 points at a .600-or-better clip in conference games this season. Meyer recorded double-digit scoring efforts in all 16 League games, seven of which were 20-plus point performances. She scored a career-high-tying 29 points on 14-for-17 shooting from the field in the final game of the regular season against North Dakota State.
On the defensive end, Meyer has helped the Jackrabbits become the best rebounding team in the League and the second-best blocking team as she ranked third individually on the glass and first in blocks (1.7 blocks per game). SDSU held its opponents to just 59.1 points per game and .374 shooting.
Meyer is the first sophomore since Oral Roberts’ Kevi Luper (2011) to garner the highest individual honor. It is the sixth time a Jackrabbit has been named Summit League Player of the Year and fifth time in the last seven seasons. Most recently,Myah Selland was the Summit League Player of the Year in 2021 and 2023. A Jackrabbit has been the Defensive Player of the Year three times, with the other two being Clarissa Ober in 2016 and 2017. The Larchwood, Iowa, native is also the first player since Luper to be named the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. It is only the sixth time in League history that a player has earned both awards during the same season (Tiffany Kyser, IUPUI-2003; Zane Teilane, Western Illinois-2005 & 2006; Luper, Oral Roberts-2010 & 2011).
For the fourth consecutive year and eighth time overall, Aaron Johnston took home the Coach of the Year accolade. The Jackrabbits ran the table in the regular season once again to become the first team in Summit League history to finish with back-to-back unblemished regular seasons. It also marked the 10th regular season crown for South Dakota State under Johnston’s guidance.
In 24 seasons at the helm of the Jackrabbits, Johnston has helped his squads surpass 20-plus wins 20 times, including 12 straight. SDSU has won its last 47 Summit League regular season games, which matches the 10thlongest regular season conference win streak in NCAA Division I history.
Junior Paige Meyer was selected to the first team after being named to the second team in her freshman and sophomore seasons. Meyer averaged 13.7 points and 4.4 assists per game in conference action. Her 4.4 assists per contest and 1.7 assist/turnover ratio both rank second in the league. Meyer scored at least 15 points seven times during the conference slate, including a conference-high 24 against NDSU in the regular-season finale. She dished 11 assists against Oral Roberts on January 28. Her .553 field goal percentage ranks third in the conference and first among guards.
Sophomore Madison Mathiowetz garnered honorable mention recognition. She recorded 13.8 points and 2.5 assists per game in league contests while shooting .491 from the floor. With 2.4 3-pointers made per game, Mathiowetz was first on the team and third among Summit League players.
Tori Nelson garnered Summit League All-Defensive Team honors. She helped South Dakota State hold conference opponents to just 59.1 points per game and .374 field goal shooting, both league bests. The senior averaged 6.1 boards and 1.0 steals in Summit League games.
Jenna Hopp was named to the inaugural Summit League All-Freshman Team. She averaged 5.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists during the Summit season to go with seven total steals. She shot .429 from the floor.
South Dakota State begins Summit League postseason action at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 9 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. The Jacks will take on either Kansas City or Omaha.
2023-24 Summit League Women’s Basketball Awards
All-Summit League First Team
Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State (So., F)
Elle Evans, North Dakota State (So., G)*
Paige Meyer, South Dakota State (Jr., G)**
Kacie Borowicz, North Dakota (5th, G)**
Grace Larkins, South Dakota (Jr., G)*
Hannah Cooper, Oral Roberts (Gr., G)*
All-Summit League Second Team
Heaven Hamling, North Dakota State (Sr., G)***
Taleyah Jones, Oral Roberts (So., G)
Jordan Jones, Denver (So., G)
Ruthie Udoumoh, Oral Roberts (Sr., G)
Jade Hill, St. Thomas (Jr., G)
All-Summit League Honorable Mention
Amber Scalia, St. Thomas (So., G)
Grace Cave, Omaha (Jr., G)
Madison Mathiowetz, South Dakota State (So., G)
Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts (RSo., G)
Emma Smith, Denver (So., Gr)*
^Player of the year automatically earns a spot on the first team
*previous all-league selections noted above
All-Defensive Team
Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State (So., F)
Ruthie Udoumoh, Oral Roberts (Sr., G)
Tori Nelson, South Dakota State (Sr., F)
Elle Evans, North Dakota State (So., G)
Hannah Cooper, Oral Roberts (Gr., G)
All-Newcomer Team
Taleyah Jones, Oral Roberts (So., G)
Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts (RSo., G)
Kendall Holmes, South Dakota (Jr., G)
Alayna Contreras, Kansas City (So., G)
Dominique Phillips, Kansas City (Gr., F)
All-Freshman Team
Emily Robinson, Oral Roberts (Fr., F)
Abby Krzewinski, North Dakota State (Fr., G)
Kiera Pemberton, North Dakota (Fr., F)
Emani Bennett, Kansas City (Fr., G)
Jenna Hopp, South Dakota State (Fr., G)
Player of the Year: Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State
Newcomer of the Year:Taleyah Jones, Oral Roberts
Freshman of the Year:Emily Robinson, Oral Roberts
Sixth Woman of the Year:Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts
Defensive Player of the Year: Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State
Coach of the Year: Aaron Johnston, South Dakota State
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