HOPEWELL, N.J. (Nov. 11, 2020) — Her Hoop Stats announced the 25 student-athletes that have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Wednesday morning. The Becky Hammon Award was first awarded in 2020, with South Dakota’s Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner . This year’s preseason watch list includes representation from 23 teams and 15 conferences.
The Mid-American Conference featured four Student-Athletes on the list including Buffalo Sophomore Dyaisha Fair, Central Michigan Senior Micaela Kelly, as well as Ohio Senior CeCe Hooks and R-Junior Erica Johnson.
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 January, 15
players will be named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in
February, with five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in
late March. The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of
the season.
Kelly, a senior from Detroit, earned the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Award in 2020 when she led the Chippewas to their fourth-consecutive regular-season league title. She ranked second in the conference and fifth nationally in scoring at 21.5 points per game while earning First Team All-MAC and All-MAC Defensive Team honors.
CeCe Hooks won the MAC Defensive Player of the Year last season for the second-straight year, and was also named to the All-MAC first team and MAC All-Defensive team. Hooks became the career record holder for steals with 316, and finished the season fifth in the country at 3.7 steals per game. Hooks averaged a career-high 18.2 points per game.
Dyaisha Fair was named 2020 MAC Freshman of the Year and was a Second Team All-MAC selection last season. The Rochester, NY native put together one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in program history as she finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (22.0 ppg), while also ranking third in final points (660), 20th in steals per game (2.8) and 21st in total steals (83). Additionally, she finished in the top 10 in nine statistical categories on UB's single-season records list.
Erica Johnson was named First Team All-MAC in 2019-20 after averaging 18.9 points per game for the Bobcats. The Mansfield, Ohio native posted first triple-double in program history against American with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
