DIVISION I
WOMEN'S PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
In 1996, the NIT/MBWA Collegiate Awards Dinner doubled in size with the long overdue inclusion of women's basketball awards across the board. Manhattan's Gina Somma went down in the record books as the first-ever MBWA Women's Division I Collegiate Player of the Year.
After the first two seasons of this award, Rutgers would go on to dominate the award with 13 honors in 23 seasons, under legendary head coach C. Vivian Stringer, including 11 honors for player of the year during an 11-year span from 1998 through 2008. The Scarlet Knights also are the only school to have the only four-year winner amongst all six divisions of the MBWA in Cappie Pondexter, one of the greatest players in NCAA history, who held the plaque in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. RU is also the only school to have winners with multiple Player of the Year nods, as Tasha Pointer (1998, 2001) and Shawnetta Stewart (1999, 2000) each came to the podium twice.
In total 11 of the 21 Division I schools in the Met Area have had a Player of the Year, with St. John's standing second with three winners (all in a four-year span from 2010-2013), while Marist (2009, 2011) and Seton Hall (1997, 2015) have also earned multiple tropies.
| 2020 |
Stella Johnson, Rider |
| 2019 |
Bre Cavanaugh, Fordham |
| 2018 |
Tyler Scaife, Rutgers |
| 2017 |
Camille Zimmerman, Columbia |
| 2016 |
Kelsey Minato, Army West Point |
| 2015 |
Ka-Deidre Simmons, Seton Hall |
| 2014 |
Damika Martinez, Iona |
| 2013 |
Nadirah McKenith, St. John's |
| 2012 |
Shenneika Smith, St. John's |
| 2011 |
Erica Allenspach, Marist |
| 2010 |
Da'Shena Stevens, St. John's |
| 2009 |
Rachele Fitz, Marist |
| 2008 |
Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers |
| 2007 |
Kia Vaughn, Rutgers |
| 2006 |
Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers |
| 2005 |
Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers |
| 2004 |
Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers |
| 2003 |
Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers |
| 2002 |
Felicia Harris, St. Peter's |
| 2001 |
Tasha Pointer, Rutgers |
| 2000 |
Shawnetta Stewart, Rutgers |
| 1999 |
Shawnetta Stewart, Rutgers |
| 1998 |
Tasha Pointer, Rutgers & Tomura Young, Rutgers |
| 1997 |
Dana Wynne, Seton Hall |
| 1996 |
Gina Somma, Manhattan |
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