St. Louis, Mo. –The American Midwest Conference (AMC) has announced the 2024 AMC Women's Basketball Season Award winner, All-Conference Teams, Champions of Character Team and Academic All-Conference Team.
How the Awards are Selected:
All-Conference & Season Awards
- Coaches nominate up to four of their own players for All-Conference, All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team. New this year is Sixth Woman of the Year, which each coach may nominate one player who started less than one-third of his team's Conference games.
- Coaches then vote for 16 players for All-Conference, five (5) for All-Defensive Team, five (5) for All-Freshman Team and three (3) for Sixth Woman of the Year.
- All coaches are automatically nominated for Coach of the Year. Coaches vote for three (3) coaches on the Coach of the Year ballot.
- The individual receiving the most points on the All-Conference ballot, All-Defensive Team ballot and All-Freshmen Team ballot are named Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively.
- Newcomer of the Year is awarded to the individual, a non-freshman in his first year playing in the Conference, who receives the highest point total in the All-Conference voting.
- The All-Conference Team is made up of a six-woman First Team and five-woman Second and Third Teams. Players that receive at least one vote but are not on the All-Conference Team receive Honorable Mention recognition.
Champions of Character Team
- Each coach selects one player from their own team.
- The nominee is a player that best exemplifies the NAIA Five Core Values of Respect, Responsibility, Sportsmanship, Integrity and Servant Leadership.
Academic All-Conference
- To be eligible for Academic All-Conference honors, student-athletes must be in their second semester at their AMC institution, have at least a 3.0 GPA and finish the year on the team.
All-Conference & Season Award Highlights:
*All stats and records are prior to the AMC Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament*
- Grace Beyer of Health Sciences & Pharmacy becomes the first AMC basketball player (man or woman) to be three-time Conference Player of the Year. She leads the NAIA in scoring (34.4 ppg) and became the all-time leading scorer in NAIA women's basketball history. Her 92.6 percent free throw percentage is second in the NAIA and Beyer ranks in the top-10 in the AMC in most statistical categories.
- Chu Crockett of Stephens becomes just the fifth player to win two major awards in the same year as she took home Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Crockett ranks in the top-10 of all major defensive statistical categories in the AMC – 3rd in blocks shots per game (1.4), fifth in total defensive rebounds (145), offensive rebounds per game (2.4) and total rebounds per game (7.8), is seventh in defensive rebounds per game (5.4) and ninth in steals per game (1.7). She is the second straight Stars player to take home both of the awards (Alayasia Douglas was Defensive Player of the Year and Zaraya March was Newcome of the Year for 2022-23).
- Columbia's Lexi Miller is the inaugural Sixth Woman of the Year, coming off the bench in all 27 games in which she played and averaging over 20 minutes per game. She finished third on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg) and was second in field goal percentage (41.5%), 3-point field goal percentage (37.4%) and steals (1.0 spg).
- Lauren Friedrich becomes the first Stephens player named AMC Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year. She averaged 8.2 points per game in the regular-season,41-percent shooting from the field. She also contributed heavily on the defensive end of the floor, racking up 27 blocks and 21 steals on the season.
- Columbia's Mallory Shetley and Stephens' Alayasia Douglas earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.
- Grace Beyer becomes a five-time All-Conference player. She and Columbia's Mallory Shetley are four-time First Team selections.
- Abby Backes and Sydney Booker became three-time All-Conference selections with Kaylee Clark, DeLaney Horstman, Ashlyn Vermeer,Zaraya March and Marveen Ross are two-time selections.
- Andre Bell was named Coach of the Year after leading the Stars to their first-ever AMC Women's Basketball Regular-Season Title following program best 21 overall wins and 16 win in the AMC
.
AMC Men's Basketball Season Award Winners
Player of the Year: Grace Beyer, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Coach of the Year: Andre Bell, Stephens
Defensive Player of the Year: Chu Crockett, Stephens
Sixth Woman of the Year: Lexi Miller, Columbia
Freshman of the Year: Lauren Friedrich, Stephens
Newcomer of the Year: Chu Crockett, Stephens
First Team All-Conference (Alphabetical by school)
DeLaney Horstman, Columbia
Mallory Shetley, Columbia
Grace Beyer, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Chu Crockett, Stephens
Kaylee Clark, Williams Baptist
Carmen Taylor, Williams Baptist
Second Team All-Conference (Alphabetical by school)
Sarah Hunt, Cottey
Ashlyn Vermeer, Hannibal-LaGrange
Mia Morel, Stephens
Sydney Booker, William Woods
Charmen Taylor, Williams Baptist
Third Team All-Conference (Alphabetical by school)
Abby Backes, Columbia
Allison Stiers, Columbia
Amar Mansour, Missouri Baptist
Zaraya March, Stephens
Marveen Ross, Stephens
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Rhys Anderson, Central Baptist
Caroline Citty, Central Baptist
Olivia Lambrigsten, Central Baptist
Dally Coulter, Cottey
Sara Montesdeoca, Cottey
Autumn Wallace, Cottey
Tyler Butler, Missouri Baptist
Bryce Dowell, Missouri Baptist
Sophia Horton, Missouri Baptist
Elizabeth Allanach, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Samantha Mathews, Heath Sciences & Pharmacy
Natalie Thomas, William Woods
Jersee Wren, William Woods
Taylor Hooten, Williams Baptist
All-Defensive Team
DeLaney Horstman, Columbia
Mallory Shetley, Columbia
Chu Crockett, Stephens
Alayasia Douglas, Stephens
Taylor Hooten, Williams Baptist
All-Freshman Team
Jya Barksdale, Cottey
Amar Mansour, Missouri Baptist
Lauren Friedrich, Stephens
Aushara Hostetler, Stephens
Sara Crowe, Williams Baptist
Champions of Character Team
Olivia Lambristen, Central Baptist
Baylie Combs, Columbia
Dally Coulter, Cottey
Sydney Spielbaurer, Hannibal-LaGrange
Samara Swire, Harris-Stowe
Arianna Buduan, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Sophia Horton, Missouri Baptist
Lauren Friedrich, Stephens
Jersee Wren, William Woods
Zahriya Baker, Williams Baptist
AMC Academic All-Conference
Lydia York, Central Baptist
Rhys Anderson, Central Baptist
Olivia Lambrigsten, Central Baptist
Maele Van Houtert, Central Baptist
Marina Crespi, Central Baptist
MacKenzie Hess, Columbia
Abby Backes, Columbia
Baylie Combs, Columbia
Carly Dorson, Columbia
DeLaney Horstman, Columbia
Mara Jensen. Columbia
Lexi Miller, Columbia
Paige Morse, Columbia
Mallory Shetley, Columbia
Jasmine Taylor, Columbia
Allison Stiers, Columbia
Madison Weydert, Columbia
Laurencia Botts, Cottey
Lesley Chalmers, Cottey
Dally Coulter, Cottey
Sarah Hunt, Cottey
Karley Painter, Cottey
Lauren Jones, Cottey
Claudia Hadlock, Cottey
Jya Barksdale, Cottey
Akyria James, Cottey
Allyson Potts, Cottey
Candice Dowell, Hannibal-LaGrange
Katelyn Farrar, Hannibal-LaGrange
Zady Gundry, Hannibal-LaGrange
Abigail White, Hannibal-LaGrange
Ivy Lesley, Hannibal-LaGrange
Hannah Neese, Hannibal-LaGrange
Sydney Spielbauer, Hannibal-LaGrange
Allison White, Hannibal-LaGrange
Taylor Flake, Hannibal-LaGrange
Ashlyn Vermeer, Hannibal-LaGrange
Autumn Brown, Harris-Stowe
Kya Gordon, Harris-Stowe
Alicia Robinson, Harris-Stowe
Samara Swire, Harris-Stowe
Elizabeth Allanach, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Grace Beyer, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Arianna Buduan, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Emily Coleman, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Ellie Creasey, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Caroliena Diaz, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Carson Flake, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Sara Hameed, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Lauren Harding, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Samantha Matthews, Health Sciences & Pharmacy
Tyler Butler, Missouri Baptist
Bryce Dowell, Missouri Baptist
Azori Edwards, Missouri Baptist
Nyah Ford, Missouri Baptist
Lily Haire, Missouri Baptist
Sophia Horton, Missouri Baptist
Liv Linneman, Missouri Baptist
Amar Mansour, Missouri Baptist
Audrey Payne, Missouri Baptist
Jenna Plymale, Missouri Baptist
Marija Runic, Missouri Baptist
Aliyah Williams, Missouri Baptist
Kayleigh Winch, Missouri Baptist
Alayasia Douglas, Stephens
KaLynn Irey, Stephens
Lauren Fredrich, Stephens
Aushara Hostetler, Stephens
Jordyn Salgado-Gray, Stephens
Macie Edwars, William Woods
Olivia Hanks, William Woods
Sydney Booker, William Woods
Katie Keilholz, William Woods
Madison Adolphsen, William Woods
Jersee Wren, William Woods
Ruth Brown, William Woods
Jenna Tierney, William Woods
Kourtney Kendrick, William Woods
Payton Deering, William Woods
Natalie Thomas, William Woods
Sara Crowe, Williams Baptist
Brylee Durbin, Williams Baptist
Raigan Head, Williams Baptist
Taylor Hooten, Williams Baptist
Kaylee Clark, Williams Baptist
Carmen Taylor, Williams Baptist