WBB: Midseason Awards

Non conference play is completed and it's eyes forward towards WAC play, which starts in eight days

Despite losing four starters and 130 combined starts to graduation Southern Utah is off to their best start in Tracy Mason’s eight year tenure. Courtesy: Southern Utah University Athletics

Non-conference play is completed, the presents are under the tree, and we’ve reached the Christmas Break. In a few days we’ll have WAC conference games but before we get to that point let’s take a look at some midseason awards.

Coach of the Year: Tracy Mason, Southern Utah

A year ago the TBirds were the last WAC team to record a win over a Division I opponent. In 2025, Southern Utah not only has five wins against NCAA Division I competition, but two of those wins were against teams that played national postseason tournament basketball a year ago in Washington State and New Mexico State (both WNIT participants). This after losing four of her five starters and 130 combined starts from a season ago. Southern Utah has the WAC’s top scoring and field goal percentage offense through Sunday.

ACU’s Payton Hull picked up right where she left off after returning from a hand injury for the Wildcats WNIT run a season ago, scoring her 1,000th career point earlier this month against McMurry. Courtesy: Abilene Christian University Athletics

Player of the Year: Payton Hull, Junior, G, Abilene Christian

Hull has impressed from the tip this season, justifying her selection as preseason player of the year, by reaching double-digit scoring in all 12 games with three games of 20 or more points against Division I opponents. She leads the WAC in scoring at 17.5 points per game, ranks fifth in field goal percentage at 40.9%, and recently was honored for eclipsing the 1,000 point mark in career scoring. In addition, she earned an all-tournament award at the ACU Christmas Classic last weekend. She’s earned one WAC Player of the Week award this year along with earning those honors from Mid-Major Madness.

UT Arlington’s Kira Reynolds has gotten off to a fast start in her freshman year and is my pick for Midseason WAC Newcomer of the Year. Courtesy: UT Arlington Athletics

Newcomer of the Year: Kira Reynolds, Freshman, F, UT Arlington

Reynolds not only gave the WAC its best win of this non-conference campaign with a putback at the buzzer against Texas A&M, but is leading the Lady Mavs in scoring so far at 12.1 points a game to go with 8.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks (leading the WAC). She’s also 10th in the WAC for scoring and fourth in rebounding so far. Reynolds has earned two Newcomer of the Week awards to date.

After a year away from the WAC, Gia Adams made her return to the conference at Tarleton State and picked up right where she left off in 2023-2024, when she earned Newcomer of the Year honors at UT Arlington. Courtesy: Tarleton State Athletics

First Team All-WAC:

Payton Hull, Junior, G, ACU

Meredith Mayes, Junior, C, ACU

Emma Johansson, Senior, F, California Baptist University

Gia Adams, Senior, G, Tarleton State

Sierra Chambers, Sophomore, G, Southern Utah

Second Team All-WAC:

Tessa Chaney, Senior, C, Utah Valley

Amanda Barcello, Redshirt Senior, G/F, Utah Valley

Khloe Lemon, Junior, G, California Baptist University

Kaylee Borden, Redshirt Senior, G, Utah Tech

Ava Uhrich, Junior, F, Southern Utah

First Team All-Newcomer:

Kira Reynolds, Freshman, F, UT Arlington

Kaylee Borden, Redshirt Senior, G, Utah Tech

Shadasia Brackens, Junior, F, Tarleton State

Lauren Olsen, Freshman, G, California Baptist University

Brooklyn Fely, Junior, F, Southern Utah

Utah Valley’s Kaylee Headrick was a nominee for Mid-Major Madness Women’s Basketball Player of the Week last week and has gotten off to a good start in 2025-2026. Courtesy: Emily Munoz/UVU Marketing

Second Team All-Newcomer:

Chance Bucher, Grad, G, California Baptist University

Kaylee Headrick, Senior, F, Utah Valley

Elodie Lutbert, Freshman, C, Tarleton State

Mila Reynolds, Redshirt Junior, F, UT Arlington

Devin Kiernan, Freshman, G, Southern Utah

Play of the Year:

An offensive rebound and layup. It happens every day in basketball but some are bigger than others. That was exactly the case for UT Arlington freshman Kira Reynolds on November 24 with one second left on the clock when she corralled a Nya Threatt free throw miss and put it through the basket to finish off a win over Texas A&M in Hawaii. It was a game not widely available unless you were willing to pay $20 bucks for Baller.tv but thanks to Social Media it will live in Lady Mavs lore forever.

Top 3 Wins of Non-Conference:

1. UT Arlington over Texas A&M in Hawaii at the North Shore Showcase on November 24

2. Southern Utah over Washington State in the America First Events Center on November 8

3. ACU/Tarleton State over Buffalo at Moody Coliseum in the ACU Christmas Classic on December 20