ATLANTA (March 30, 2020) — Baylor University’s DiDi Richards is the 2020 WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year, announced today by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
The Defensive Player of the Year award honors the best defensive women's basketball player in all of NCAA Division I. All conference defensive players of the year in NCAA Division I are considered for the award. If a conference does not select a defensive player of the year, the conference office can nominate one player to be considered.
"Defense is about determination, intensity, effort and teamwork. DiDi Richards is an outstanding student-athlete who embodies these characteristics at the highest level,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle M. Donehew. “DiDi has consistently presented a challenge to opposing coaches and players. We celebrate her contribution to her team and to the game of women’s basketball.”
Richards earned Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors for the second year in a row and was named the 2020 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. This season she tallied 52 steals and 25 blocks for Baylor while averaging 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Richards spearheaded a defensive effort for the Lady Bears, which led the country for the fourth-straight season in field goal percentage defense. According to Synergy, she held opponents to 26.2 percent from the floor in the 2019-20 season. Richards is also a finalist for the 2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Richards is the second Baylor player to win the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year award along with three-time winner Brittney Griner (2011-13).
The WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year award began in 2007. Visit www.wbca.org/recognize/ to see a list of past recipients.
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to the organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.
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