Elizabeth LaFleur | NCAA.com | February 9, 2021 2021 Midseason Team for Naismith Women's Player of the Year announced The 2021 NCAA women's basketball bracket, predicted just past the halfway mark of the season Share The Naismith Trophy announced its Midseason Team for the 2021 Women's Player of the Year award. Sabrina Ionescu from Oregon won the 2020 prize. The list includes 30 players from 7 different conferences. NAISMITH HONORS: 2021 Midseason Team for Defensive Player of the Year Kentucky's Rhyne Howard returns to the 2021 list after becoming a finalist in 2020. The list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists on March 2 before narrowing again to four finalists on March 19. The winner of the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Award will be announced April 3, the day before the NCAA championship game. See the full Midseason Team below. FULL NAME CLASS POSITION SCHOOL CONFERENCE Aliyah Boston So. F South Carolina SEC Paige Bueckers Fr. G UConn BIG EAST Caitlin Clark Fr. G Iowa Big Ten Charli Collier Jr. F/C Texas Big 12 Zia Cooke So. G South Carolina SEC Elissa Cunane Jr. C NC State ACC Rennia Davis Sr. G/F Tennessee SEC Chelsea Dungee Sr. G Arkansas SEC Dana Evans Sr. G Louisville ACC Kysre Gondrezick Sr. G West Virginia Big 12 Arella Guirantes Sr. G Rutgers Big Ten Anastasia Hayes Jr. G Middle Tennessee State C-USA Naz Hillmon Jr. F Michigan Big Ten Rhyne Howard Jr. G Kentucky SEC Rickea Jackson So. F Mississippi St. SEC Ashley Joens Jr. G/F Iowa State Big 12 Haley Jones So. G Stanford Pac-12 N'dea Jones Sr. F Texas A&M SEC Dorka Juhász Jr. F Ohio State Big Ten Natasha Mack Sr. F Oklahoma State Big 12 Aari McDonald Sr. G Arizona Pac-12 Olivia Nelson-Ododa Jr. F UConn BIG EAST Michaela Onyenwere Sr. F UCLA Pac-12 Charisma Osborne So. G UCLA Pac-12 Ashley Owusu So. G Maryland Big Ten Lindsey Pulliam Sr. G Northwestern Big Ten NaLyssa Smith Jr. F Baylor Big 12 Jasmine Walker Sr. F Alabama SEC Kiana Williams Sr. G Stanford Pac-12 Christyn Williams Jr. G UConn BIG EAST Proposal to expand DI women’s basketball tournament field advances Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and Division I Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee voted unanimously to advance proposal to expand Division I Women’s Basketball Championship field to 68 teams. READ MORE College basketball: Exploration of combined men’s and women’s Final Fours begins Following yesterday's announcement that the March Madness brand will be used for the DI women's basketball championship, DI Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees agree the earliest a joint event could occur is 2027. READ MORE March Madness brand will be used for DI Women’s Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship will use March Madness marketing and branding beginning with the 2022 tournament. READ MORE