Larkins POTY, Johnston COTY in Summit League WBB Awards

Grace Larkins just put an exclamation point on an amazing Senior season in Vermillion, and she's not done yet.

On Tuesday, the Coyote Senior was tabbed the 2024-25 Summit League Player of the Year following a tremendous regular season.

Larkins was the only Coyote recognized on this year's awards list, as she also was named to the All-Defensive team. There was a total of eight Jackrabbits honored by the conference.

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South Dakota State Head Coach Aaron Johnston was named the Summit League Women's Basketball Coach of the Year for the Eighth time:

South Dakota State’s Aaron Johnston collected his ninth Coach of the Year award and fifth straight after leading the Jackrabbits to their third consecutive unbeaten Summit regular season and fifth straight title. His squads have won 63 consecutive regular season conference games dating back to 2021-22.

Here's more on Larkins' honor as Player of the Year:

The Altoona, Iowa native registered 25.7 ppg and 10.1 rpg to top the conference charts in those statistics, while also ranking second in assists (5.6/g) and sharing the lead in total steals with 33. Larkins also established a new single-game scoring mark when she tallied 47 points in a road tilt at North Dakota State and scored 25-plus points in nine Summit clashes.

Here is the complete list of the awards handed out on Tuesday:

2024-25 Summit League Women’s Basketball Awards
All-Summit League First Team
Taleyah Jones, Oral Roberts (Jr., G)*
Avery Koenen, North Dakota State (So., F)
Grace Larkins, South Dakota (Sr., G)**^
Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State (Jr., F)*
Paige Meyer, South Dakota State (Sr., G)***
Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts (RJr., G)*

All-Summit League Second Team
Grace Cave, Omaha (Sr., G)*
Alayna Contreras, Kansas City (Jr., G)
Abbie Draper, North Dakota State (Sr., F)
Jordan Jones, Denver (Jr., G)*
Kiera Pemberton, North Dakota (So, F)

All-Summit League Honorable Mention
Ja Harvey, Omaha (Sr., G)
Jade Hill, St. Thomas (Sr., G)*
Jo Langbehn, St. Thomas (Sr., F)
Amber Scalia, St. Thomas (Jr., G)*
Haleigh Timmer, South Dakota State (RJr., G)*

^Player of the year automatically earns a spot on the first team
*previous all-league selections noted above

All-Defensive Team
Mesa Byom, South Dakota State (Sr., F)
Fatima Ibrahim, North Dakota (So., C)
Grace Larkins, South Dakota (Sr., G)
Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State (Jr., F)
Paige Meyer, South Dakota State (Sr., G)

All-Newcomer Team
Ja Harvey, Omaha (Sr., G)
Molly Lenz, North Dakota State (So., G)
Ana Oliveira, Kansas City (So., G)
Aaliyah Moore, Omaha (Sr., F)
Laia Monclova, Denver (So., G)

All-Freshman Team
Marisa Frost, North Dakota State (Fr., G)
Alyssa Sand, St. Thomas (Fr., F)
Jocelyn Schiller, North Dakota (Fr., G)
Katie Vasecka, South Dakota State (Fr., G)
Harriet Ford, Omaha (Fr., C)

Player of the Year: Grace Larkins, South Dakota
Newcomer of the Year: Ja Harvey, Omaha
Freshman of the Year: Jocelyn Schiller, North Dakota
Sixth Woman of the Year: Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts
Defensive Player of the Year: Fatima Ibrahim, North Dakota
Coach of the Year: Aaron Johnston, South Dakota State

The Summit League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments begin on Wednesday in Sioux Falls at the Denny Sanford Premier Center and run through Sunday. Visit the official site to check out the brackets, schedules, and get your tickets today!

Source: The Summit League