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| Awarded for | Most outstanding basketball player in the Mountain West Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| History | |
| First award | 2000 |
| Most recent | Desi-Rae Young, UNLV |
The Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Mountain West Conference's (MW) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1999–2000 season, the first of the conference's existence. As of 2022–23, no MW player has received any national player of the year award.
Utah has the most awards with eight and individual recipients with five, but the Utes left the MW in 2011 to join what is now the Pac-12 Conference. Among current members, UNLV has the most awards with five, and shares honors with Colorado State for the most individual recipients with three. Two players have shared the award on five occasions—in 2001, consecutively from 2005 to 2007, and also in 2015. Four players have won the award more than once. Desi-Rae Young of UNLV won in 2022 and 2024; Ellen Nystrom of Colorado State won in 2016 and 2017; Linda Fröhlich of UNLV won the award outright in 2000 and 2002 and shared it in 2001; and Kim Gaucher (née Smith) of Utah won four times—outright in 2003 and 2004, and shared in 2005 and 2006.
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: the Naismith College Player of the Year, Wade Trophy or the John R. Wooden Award |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Mountain West Player of the Year award at that point |
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Utah (1999)[a 1] | 8 | 2001†, 2003, 2004, 2005 (×2)†, 2006†, 2008, 2009 |
| UNLV (1999) | 5 | 2000, 2001†, 2002, 2022, 2024 |
| Colorado State (1999) | 4 | 2015†, 2016, 2017, 2023 |
| BYU (1999)[a 2] | 3 | 2003, 2006†, 2007† |
| Fresno State (2012) | 3 | 2015†, 2020, 2021 |
| San Diego State (1999) | 2 | 2012, 2013 |
| TCU (2005)[a 3] | 2 | 2007†, 2010 |
| Wyoming (1999) | 2 | 2011, 2018 |
| Utah State (2013) | 1 | 2014 |
| New Mexico (1999) | 1 | 2019 |
| Air Force (1999) | 0 | — |
| Boise State (2011) | 0 | — |
| Nevada (2012) | 0 | — |
| San Jose State (2013) | 0 | — |
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Mountain West Conference women's basketball
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U.S. women's college basketball awards
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