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University of Massachusets Athletics
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Breen Selected As Finalist For 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player Of The Year Award
March 01, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Breen is one of five members tabbed as a finalist for the accolade, presented by Her Hoop Stats.
HOPEWELL, N.J. - Graduate student Sam Breen is one of the five finalists for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, presented by Her Hoop Stats, the organization announced on Wednesday morning.
Breen garners the honor for the first time in her career, with the back-to-back Atlantic 10 Player of the Year (2021-22; 2022-23), being named a two-time Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Semifinalist in both 2022 and 2023.
The finalists list includes representatives from five schools and four conferences. Breen is the only member of the Atlantic 10 Conference to earn a spot on the list.
Breen has averaged 17.9 points per game, totaling 518 points, so far this season, while averaging 10.0 rebounds per game (291 total). The graduate student ranks third in the A-10 in scoring with her points per game average, and is first with her rebounds per game average, while sitting 23rd in the nation. Breen has recorded 16 double-doubles this season, tying for 12th in the country, and moving her career total to 56. She also registered her first career triple-double against St. Bonaventure (12/31), tying for third in the NCAA. In defensive rebounds per game, Breen is tied for 19th in the nation (7.3; 213 total), while tying for 15th with her total rebounds and tying for 16th in field goals made (208 total).
The Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, native tabbed A-10 All-Conference First Team honors, while landing on the 2022-23 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason and Midseason Awards Watch Lists, before being named a Semifinalist. Breen also landed on the 2023 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's Watch List and was selected to the 2022-23 Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List and was named to the FIU Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team.
To be eligible for the honor, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major". In October, the 25-player Preseason Watch List was announced, with the 15 Midseason Watch List members announced in January. The list of 10 Semifinalists was released in February. The winner of the accolade will be announced in late March. Over the course of the season, the list will see players on and off the list, as Her Hoop Stats monitors season statistics.
The first Becky Hammon Award was presented in 2020 to South Dakota's Ciara Duffy and Florida Gulf Coast's Kierstan Bell took home the honor in 2021 and 2022.
Becky Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, marking the only appearance in the program's history to date. In 1999, Hammon was signed to the New York Liberty and was traded to the San Antonio Start in 2007, where she played for the remainder of her career. She retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree, and in 2016 was named one of the top-20 players in WNBA history.
In 2014, Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs, while being the only woman head coach in the NBA Summer League, as well as the only woman to be a member of the NBA All-Star coaching staff. Hammon is currently the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and won the 2022 WNBA Championship in her first season.
2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Finalists
Keishana Washington – Drexel
Yvonne Ejim – Gonzaga
Sam Breen – Massachusetts
Alex Fowler – Portland
Myah Selland – South Dakota State
Breen garners the honor for the first time in her career, with the back-to-back Atlantic 10 Player of the Year (2021-22; 2022-23), being named a two-time Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Semifinalist in both 2022 and 2023.
The finalists list includes representatives from five schools and four conferences. Breen is the only member of the Atlantic 10 Conference to earn a spot on the list.
Breen has averaged 17.9 points per game, totaling 518 points, so far this season, while averaging 10.0 rebounds per game (291 total). The graduate student ranks third in the A-10 in scoring with her points per game average, and is first with her rebounds per game average, while sitting 23rd in the nation. Breen has recorded 16 double-doubles this season, tying for 12th in the country, and moving her career total to 56. She also registered her first career triple-double against St. Bonaventure (12/31), tying for third in the NCAA. In defensive rebounds per game, Breen is tied for 19th in the nation (7.3; 213 total), while tying for 15th with her total rebounds and tying for 16th in field goals made (208 total).
The Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, native tabbed A-10 All-Conference First Team honors, while landing on the 2022-23 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason and Midseason Awards Watch Lists, before being named a Semifinalist. Breen also landed on the 2023 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's Watch List and was selected to the 2022-23 Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List and was named to the FIU Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team.
To be eligible for the honor, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major". In October, the 25-player Preseason Watch List was announced, with the 15 Midseason Watch List members announced in January. The list of 10 Semifinalists was released in February. The winner of the accolade will be announced in late March. Over the course of the season, the list will see players on and off the list, as Her Hoop Stats monitors season statistics.
The first Becky Hammon Award was presented in 2020 to South Dakota's Ciara Duffy and Florida Gulf Coast's Kierstan Bell took home the honor in 2021 and 2022.
Becky Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, marking the only appearance in the program's history to date. In 1999, Hammon was signed to the New York Liberty and was traded to the San Antonio Start in 2007, where she played for the remainder of her career. She retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree, and in 2016 was named one of the top-20 players in WNBA history.
In 2014, Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs, while being the only woman head coach in the NBA Summer League, as well as the only woman to be a member of the NBA All-Star coaching staff. Hammon is currently the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and won the 2022 WNBA Championship in her first season.
2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Finalists
Keishana Washington – Drexel
Yvonne Ejim – Gonzaga
Sam Breen – Massachusetts
Alex Fowler – Portland
Myah Selland – South Dakota State
Players Mentioned
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