NEW YORK – Villanova senior forward Maddy Siegrist was unanimously selected as the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year. The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year broke the conference’s single-season scoring record last year and led the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018. Connecticut forward Ayanna Patterson was voted BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. In addition to the major awards, an 11-member Preseason All-BIG EAST Team was announced, along with two Honorable Mention selections. Preseason major awards and all-league honors are selected by the BIG EAST’s head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.
 
Siegrist shattered the BIG EAST record for scoring in 2021-22, averaging 27.9 points per game over 17 league contests, besting the previous mark of 26.6 which had been on the books since 1991-92. Additionally, she finished second in rebounding at 9.9 boards per game, and 10^th in both steals (1.6) and blocks (0.9). Siegrist’s overall scoring average of 25.3 points per game ranked second nationally last season. She reached the 30-point mark a BIG EAST-best nine times, the 20-point threshold 21 times and notched 12 double-doubles.
 
Patterson is a five-star recruit from Fort Wayne, Ind. She is ranked fourth in the class of 2022, as listed by ESPN. She averaged 25.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks as a senior at Homestead High and was named a McDonald’s All American and Indiana Miss Basketball. She is the third straight UConn rookie to be named BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year following Azzi Fudd in 2021 and Paige Bueckers in 2020.
 
BIG EAST preseason favorite UConn led all programs with three Preseason All-BIG EAST Team selections – sophomore guard Caroline Ducharme, junior forward Aaliyah Edwards and sophomore guard Azzi Fudd. Graduate student forward Dorka Juhász was an Honorable Mention pick as well. Ducharme sprung to the forefront last year after the loss of Bueckers due to injury. Ducharme was thrust into the starting lineup midseason and upped her scoring average from 3.3 points per game to 17.6 during that 11-game stretch. Over 14 BIG EAST contests she averaged 13.1 points. Edwards started 26 games for the Huskies last year and averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.  Her field goal percentage (.542) ranked fifth in the BIG EAST. Fudd missed 11 games during her rookie campaign due to injury but was impressive once at full strength. The rising sophomore is UConn’s top returning scorer, finishing her freshman season averaging 12.1 points and shooting 43-percent from three. Juhász is the Huskies’ top returning rebounder at 5.7 per game, including 6.4 in BIG EAST play. She also scored 9.5 points per game against conference opponents.
 
Creighton was represented on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by unanimous pick Emma Ronsiek along with Lauren Jensen. Ronsiek, a junior forward, led the Bluejays in scoring last season, averaging 13.9 points, including 14.8 in BIG EAST play. In her first year at Creighton, Jensen averaged 13.9 points in conference play and 12.5 overall. The junior guard captured national attention when she made the go-ahead three-pointer at Iowa, her former school, as Creighton upset the second-seeded Hawkeyes in Iowa City to advance to the Sweet 16. Jensen is the reigning BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Additionally, junior guard/forward Morgan Maly was a Preseason Honorable Mention pick. The 2022 BIG EAST Sixth-Woman of the Year came off the bench in all but one game last year but finished third on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
 
Seton Hall also saw multiple players honored in the preseason. Senior guard Lauren Park-Lane was a unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST Team pick and was joined by graduate student forward/center Sidney Cooks on the squad. Park-Lane set the BIG EAST single-season assists record with 152 dimes over 20 league games, and also matched the single-game standard with 18 against Butler on Feb. 22. Park-Lane finished fourth in the conference in scoring at 18.0 points per game and was third in assist-turnover ratio (2.4), anchored by her league-leading 7.6 assists per game average. In her first season at Seton Hall, Cooks finished seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring (15.6), fourth in rebounding (8.0) and second in blocks (1.7).
 
DePaul, Marquette, Providence and St. John’s each had one player named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. For the Blue Demons, reigning national freshman of the year Aneesah Morrow was a unanimous pick. The sophomore forward broke 13 BIG EAST records in 2021-22, including all rebounding records (single game, rookie game, season, rookie season, average, rookie average) and all rookie scoring standards (single game, season, average). Jordan King is the Golden Eagles’ top returning scorer after averaging 11.5 points per game; she also led Marquette in assists (4.4) and steals (1.4) a season ago. In her first season with the Friars, Janai Crooms led PC in scoring (13.8), rebounding (7.2), assists (3.5) and steals (1.4). Kadaja Bailey is the Red Storm’s top returning scorer after averaging 14.2 points per game. She led St. John’s in steals (1.4) and finished second on the team in assists (3.3).
 
BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova, Sr., F*
 
BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year
Ayanna Patterson, UConn, Fr., F
 
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team^
Caroline Ducharme, UConn, So., G
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn, Jr., F
Azzi Fudd, UConn, So., G*
Lauren Jensen, Creighton, Jr., G
Emma Ronsiek, Creighton, Jr., F*
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul, So., F*
Jordan King, Marquette, Sr., G
Janai Crooms, Providence, Sr., G
Kadaja Bailey, St. John’s, Fifth Year, G
Sidney Cooks, Seton Hall, Grad., F/C
Lauren Park-Lane, Seton Hall, Sr., G*
 
Preseason Honorable Mention
Dorka Juhász, UConn, Grad., F
Morgan Maly, Creighton, Jr., G/F
 
*unanimous selection
^extra player added due to a tie in voting