Aari McDonald was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, the first of what should prove to be many postseason honors for the Arizona Wildcats' junior guard. The news wasn't as good for coach Adia Barnes, who was passed over for Pac-12 Coach of the Year, an award that went to Oregon's Kelly Graves.Β
McDonald was also named to the 15-member All-Pac-12 team, as was sophomore forward Cate Reese. Junior forward Sam Thomas was named to the league's five-member all-defensive team, along with McDonald, and earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors. Helena Pueyo was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 freshman.Β
The electric, tenacious McDonald leads the Pac-12 with 2.5 steals per game, and is second among active players in steals. McDonald also averages 20.3 points per game, tops in the league. On Tuesday, she was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year award.
Reese averages 13.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.Β Thomas, meanwhile, averaged a Pac-12-best 1.94 blocks per conference game.Β Β
Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu was named Pac-12 Player of the Year for the third consecutive time, Oregon's Taylor Chavez was named sixth player of the year and USC forward Alyssa Pili was named freshman of the year.Β Β
The pick of Graves over Barnes for coach of the year registers as a bit of a surprise, at least in Tucson. The Ducks made the Final Four a year ago, and were expected to again challenge for a national championship. They've done just that, securing the top seed in this week's Pac-12 Tournament and a No. 3 national ranking. Barnes' Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the conference, but have exceeded outside expectations with wins over UCLA, Arizona State and β most recently β Stanford. All postseason awards are voted on by league coaches.Β
The 13th-ranked Wildcats earned a first-round bye in this week's Pac-12 Tournament. Arizona will play at 12:30 p.m. Friday against either 12th-seeded Cal or fifth-seeded Arizona State. The winner would play No. 1 Oregon, No. 8 Utah or No. 9 Washington in Saturday's semifinals.Β
Here's a full look at the All-Pac-12 teams:Β
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sabrina Ionescu, guard, Oregon
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kelly Graves, Oregon
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Aari McDonald, guard, Arizona
SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Taylor Chavez, guard, Oregon
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Β Alissa Pili, forward, USC
ALL-PAC-12 TEAM
Japreece Dean, guard, UCLA
Ruthy Hebard, forward, Oregon
Borislava Hristova, forward, Washington State
Lexie Hull, guard, Stanford
Sabrina Ionescu, guard, Oregon
Aari McDonald, guard, Arizona
Amber Melgoza, guard, Washington
Michaela Onyenwere, forward, UCLA
Alissa Pili, forward, USC
Mikayla Pivec, guard, Oregon State
Cate Reese, forward, Arizona
Robbi Ryan, guard Arizona State
Satou Sabally, forward, OregonΒ
Destiny Slocum, guard, Oregon State
Kiana Williams, guard, Stanford
Honorable mention:Β Jaelyn Brown, G/F, Cal; Mya Hollingshed, G/F, Colorado; Taylor JOnes, F, Oregon State; Bryanna Maxwell, G, Utah; Chanelle Molina, G, Washington State; Reili Richardson, G, ASU; Ja'Tavia Tapley, F, ASU; Sam Thomas, F, Arizona.
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Lexie Hull, guard, Stanford
Aari McDonald, guard, Arizona
Minyon Moore, guard, Oregon
Mikayla Pivec, guard, Oregon State
Sam Thomas, forward, Arizona
Honorable mention:Β Quinessa Caylao-Do, G, Colorado; Nadia Fingall, F, Stanford; Aleah Goodman, G, OSU; Lacie Hull, G, Stanford; Taylor Jones, F, OSU; Chanelle Molina, G, WSU; Charisman Osborne, G, UCLA; Kayla Overbeck, F, USC; Kiara Russell, G, ASU; Evelien Lutje Schipholt, F, Cal; Kiana Williams, G, Stanford.
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Taylor Jones, F, Oregon State
Bryanna Maxwell, G, Utah
Charisma Osborne, G, UCLA
Alissa Pili, F, USC
Jaylyn Sherrod, G, Colorado
Honorable mention:Β Francesca Belibi, F, Stanford; Jazlen Green, G, Cal; Lola Penande, F, Utah; Ashten Prechtel, F, Stanford; Helena Pueyo, G, Arizona; Jaz Shelley, F, Oregon.
