USBWA News Articles

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association mourns the passing of Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a longtime member of our Board of Directors whose authoritative perspective and generosity of spirit made him an essential part of the organization.

Billy Ray Barnes III of Dean College (Franklin, Mass.) and Korin Baker of Whitman College (Walla Walla, Wash.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending December 1.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association mourns the loss of Hall-of-Fame St. John’s University coach Lou Carnesecca, who died Saturday just over a month before what would have been his 100th birthday.

Octavio Brito of Keene State College (Keene, NH) and Natalie Gricius of Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.) were named the Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending November 24.

Adam Brazil of Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden-Sydney, Va.) and Mary Schluesner of Washington & Lee University (Lexington, Va.) were named the Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending November 17.

Lucas Lesko of Wilkes University (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Destiny Matthews of Concordia University (Austin, Texas) were named the Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending November 10.

Basketball legend Jerry West passed away today at the age of 86. Following is a statement on behalf of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

A pair of Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Year headline the 2023-24 USBWA Women's All-America Team. Iowa's Caitlin Clark, now a four-time All-American, and UConn's Paige Bueckers, earning her second honor, join LSU's three-time selection Angel Reese to bolster a power-packed six-woman first team. In all, 16 players were honored among three teams, in addition to five honorable mention selections.

After leading USC to its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 1986, JuJu Watkins has been named the winner of the Tamika Catchings Award as the national freshman player of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, one of the country’s top three-point shooters, the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Year and a member of its all-conference second team, has won the 2023-24 Wayman Tisdale Award as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's National Freshman Player of the Year.

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson led the Cougars to the Big 12 Conference regular-season title with a 15-3 record in their debut season in the league using a frenetic defense to post a 30-win season and a top seed in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region. For leading his program to its fifth conference regular-season title in the last six seasons and a sixth straight NCAA Tournament, Sampson has been named the winner of the 2023-24 Henry Iba Award, given annually by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to its national coach of the year.

For the fourth time in her career and for the third straight season, South Carolina's Dawn Staley has been named the Women's National Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

In recognition of his long service and commitment to the game of women’s basketball, NCAA associate director, media coordination and statistics Rick Nixon has been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Mary Jo Haverbeck Award winner for 2024.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association is pleased to honor Mike Jensen, longtime college basketball writer and columnist for the Phildelphia Inquirer, as the winner of the Jim O'Connell Award for excellence in beat reporting. Jensen will be recognized April 8 at the association's annual awards luncheon in Glendale, Ariz., site of the Men's Final Four.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association is pleased to honor John Fanta of FOX Sports as the Rising Star Award winner in men’s basketball. He will be recognized at the association's annual awards luncheon in Glendale, Ariz., site of the Men's Final Four.

Gavin Barrett of Penn College (Williamsport, Pa.) and Paris Kiser of Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene, Texas) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending February 18.

Josiah Johnson of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Belton, Texas) and Tanaesha Ellison of William Peace University (Raleigh, N.C.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending February 11.

Jaquan Adams of Principia College (Elsah, Ill.) and Brianna Fitzgerald of SUNY New Paltz (New Paltz, N.Y.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending February 4.

Josh Van Gorp of Central College (Pella, Iowa) and Lauryn Milne of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (La Crosse, Wis.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending January 28.

Jalen Overway of Calvin University (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Caitlyn Scott of Albertus Magnus College (New Haven, Conn.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the period ending January 21.