Koenen Named to Preseason Watch Listing for Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award

HOPEWELL, N.J. – Junior ahead Avery Koenen has been named to the preseason watch checklist for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award introduced by Her Hoops Stats, the group introduced on Wednesday.

Koenen turns into the primary participant in Bison historical past to earn a spot on the 25-player preseason watch checklist. She’s additionally one among solely two gamers within the Summit League to earn the preseason recognition, becoming a member of Brooklyn Meyer from South Dakota State.

Koenen contributed a team-high 14.5 factors and hauled in a team-best 7.9 rebounds per recreation final season for the Bison. Her 7.9 rebounds per recreation ranked third within the Summit League. Koenen logged double digits in scoring in 24-of-33 video games final season, together with 9 20-point performances. The Montevideo, Minn., native was additionally named to the All-Summit League Preseason First Team earlier this month.

The full launch could be seen right here.

The Bison will open the 2025-26 season at Northern Iowa on Monday, Nov. 3. Tip-off is about for six:00 p.m.

 

Award Eligibility & Schedule

To be eligible for this award, gamers should compete in one of many 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are thought-about high-major for the needs of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, gamers from Oregon State and Washington State stay ineligible this yr.

The 15-player midseason watch checklist will likely be introduced in January, adopted by 10 semifinalists introduced in February. The 5 finalists will likely be introduced in early March, with the winner introduced across the Final Four. The checklist is fluid, and gamers might play their method on or off it over the course of the season.