SDSU sophomore Brooklyn Meyer was named both Summit League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year League officials announced Thursday.
Meyer became the first sophomore since Oral Roberts’ Kevi Luper (2011) to garner the highest individual honor. The Larchwood, Iowa, native is also the first player since Luper to be named the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
It is only the sixth time in League history that a player has earned both awards during the same season (Tiffany Kyser, IUPUI-2003; Zane Teilane, Western Illinois-2005 and 2006; Luper, Oral Roberts-2010 & 2011).
The Jackrabbit forward averaged 18.7 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 64.8% from the field. Meyer recorded double-digit scoring efforts in all 16 League games, seven of which were 20-plus point performances. She scored a career-high-tying 29 points on 14-for-17 shooting from the field in the final game of the regular season against North Dakota State March 2.
On the defensive end, Meyer has helped the Jackrabbits become the best rebounding team in the League and the second-best blocking team as she ranked third individually on the glass and first in blocks (1.7 blocks per game).
For the fourth consecutive year and eighth time overall, South Dakota State’s Aaron Johnston took home the Coach of the Year accolade. The Jackrabbits ran the table in the regular season once again to become the first team in Summit League history to finish with back-to-back unblemished regular seasons. It also marked the 10th regular season crown for South Dakota State under Johnston’s guidance.
In 24 seasons at the helm of the Jackrabbits, Johnston has helped his squads surpass 20-plus wins 20 times, including 12 straight. SDSU has won its last 47 Summit League regular season games, which matches the 10th longest regular season conference win streak in NCAA Division I history.
The Jackrabbits will play the winner of No. 8 Kansas City and No. 9 Omaha, who will play Friday, at 3 p.m. in Sioux Falls at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
