Atlanta Tipoff Club | February 25, 2020 10 semifinalists announced for Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year award 5 best women's basketball players at every position in 2019-20 Share The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced its 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year, the award given to the top defender in women's college basketball. The list will be narrowed down to four finalists on March 11 before a winner is named on April 5. PLAYER OF THE YEAR: 30 candidates named to Naismith Trophy Player of the Year midseason team The Big 12 leads all conferences with three players on the list, followed by two each from the SEC and Pac-12 with additional semifinalists from the ACC, Big Ten and WCC for a total of six conferences represented. This is the third year of the award, with Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan (2018) and California's Kristen Anigwe (2019) being its first two recipients. Both winners have since graduated, meaning a new player will win in 2020. NAME SCHOOL CLASS POSITION CONFERENCE Aliyah Boston South Carolina Freshman Forward SEC Brittany Brewer Texas Tech Senior Forward Big 12 Lauren Cox Baylor Senior Forward Big 12 Jordan Danberry Mississippi State Senior Guard SEC Sara Hamson BYU Junior Center WCC Ae'Rianna Harris Purdue Senior Forward Big Ten Aari McDonald Arizona Junior Guard Pac-12 Mikayla Pivec Oregon State Senior Guard Pac-12 DiDi Richards Baylor Junior Guard Big 12 Kylee Shook Louisville Senior Forward ACC 🏀 LATEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NEWS 🏀 RANKINGS: Preseason Power 10 | AP poll | NET rankings 2022: NCAA women's basketball tournament dates, schedule STORE: Shop latest college basketball gear ALL-TIME STARTING FIVE: Tennessee | UConn HISTORY: Champions | Relive Stanford's title run The best, worst and most likely finish for each AP Top 25 ranking A comprehensive breakdown of the AP preseason college basketball poll, including how many NCAA tournament titles each spot has won and how many March Madness games a team is likely to win based on where it's ranked. READ MORE No. 17 Baylor women's volleyball takes down No. 7 Florida in straight sets for the weekend sweep No. 17 Baylor women's volleyball takes down No. 7 Florida for the second night in a row, this time in straight sets. READ MORE Women's volleyball: No. 17 Baylor defeats No. 7 Florida in four sets No. 17 Baylor defeated No. 7 Florida on Friday night to snap a three game losing streak. READ MORE