Midseason awards watch: Will UConn’s Geno Auriemma win Coach of the Year? Who’s the best freshman in college basketball?

The college basketball season sped past its halfway point this month. It now enters into the prime of season award territory, while 25-player midseason lists are slowly whittled down into semifinalists on the turn of the calendar.

The National Player of the Year race is helmed by Connecticut sophomore Sarah Strong, a versatile forward many claim could be the best to have ever donned a Husky uniform. That’s quite the accolade, and her two-way play places her in strong contention to add a Defensive Player of the Year award to the haul.

Here, Yahoo Sports takes a look at the leading Freshman, Coach and Defensive Player of the Year candidates. The first Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watchlist will be released on Tuesday. The WBCA selection committee chooses from the conference freshman of the year winners. And the Naismith late-season Coach of the Year list will be released on Feb. 18 with 15 honorees.

Freshman of the Year

Jazzy Davidson, USC

The No. 1 recruit in the class according to ESPN stepped into large shoes as the focus of USC’s offense while JuJu Watkins is coming back from the ACL tear she sustained in March. The 6-foot-1 guard is carrying the load as the Trojans’ leader in per-game stats across the board: points (16), rebounds (6.6), assists (3.8), steals (1.9) and blocks (2.4). She is the only player in DI with a stat line of at least 15-6-3-1-2 in the above categories.

The major knock on her case is efficiency, though it’s not uncommon for freshmen. She’s in the third shooting percentile (37.8 FG%), consisting of a 44.3% clip from inside the arc and 27.6 outside of it. Davidson, a Wooden midseason award honoree, is a high-volume shooter this year (100th percentile), but hasn’t knocked them down at a decent clip in part because of the attention and burden placed on her. USC also lost forward Kiki Iriafen, a WNBA lottery pick and all-rookie selection.

Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma

Chavez, one of two freshmen to earn a spot on the Wooden Award midseason list, stepped into a starting point guard role for the Sooners as the third-ranked player in the class, per ESPN. She’s a well-rounded leader averaging 18.8 points, 4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She’s playing starter minutes, averaging a shooting line of 39/33.8/88. Similar to Davidson, she ranks in the fifth percentile and 21st for 3-point percentage.

The 5-10 guard is averaging a full stat line similar to that of only Hannah Hidalgo, a National Player of the Year candidate, and could become the second freshman since 2009 to average a stat line of at least 19 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds with 3.1 or fewer turnovers (she’s averaging 3.2 as of Tuesday). She would join Paige Bueckers in 2020-21.

Lauren Whitaker, Gonzaga

Whittaker is one of the most productive freshmen of the class, averaging 19.3 points (second among freshmen) and 10.2 rebounds (fourth) in 26.5 minutes per game. She is one of nine players to average at least 15 and 10, and is the only one of them to average at least one 3 per game as a versatile threat. The 6-3 forward is also one of the most efficient with a 57.5/41/83.7 line that’s closing in on the heralded 50/40/90 season.

A native of New Zealand, the redshirt freshman led her Canterbury team to the U19 nationals title and earned MVP. Gonzaga (14-6, 6-1 WCC) and Oregon State are at the top of the WCC standings.

Honorable mention: UConn forward Blanca Quiñonez is averaging 10.8 points off the bench as UConn’s third-leading scorer. Her limited minutes push her down the leaderboard, but she’ll be the odds-on favorite to win Big East Freshman of the Year, having swept the Freshman of the Week honors thus far. Vanderbilt point guard Aubrey Galvan leads DI freshmen in assists (6.3) as well as steals (3.0) as a key component to their historic start.

Three of the top-five recruits in the 2025 class have been limited by injuries: No. 2 Sienna Betts (UCLA), No. 4 Emilee Skinner (Duke) and No. 5 Aaliyah Crump (Texas). Don’t overlook Syracuse center Uche Izoje as a leading ACC FOY contender. Northern Arizona’s Naomi White leads DI freshmen in scoring (22.4 ppg), Omaha’s Avril Smith tops in rebounding (11.0) and Portland’s Julia Dalan leads all DI players in blocks (3.4).

Defensive Player of the Year

Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame

Hidalgo, a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, manufactures turnovers like no other. The 5-foot-6 junior point guard is averaging 5.6 steals per game (7.6% steal rate), leading Division I and marking her career-best. Even when she’s not turning guards over, her ball pressure is one of the best in the nation and alters the opposing team’s offensive options. She ranks 11th in Her Hoop Stats defensive win shares and 66th in defensive win shares per 40 minutes.

Hidalgo set the NCAA DI steals record with 16 against Akron in November. Her conference high this season is eight against Georgia Tech.

Sarah Strong, UConn

Strong does it all. The 6-2 forward is a pesky paint problem while leading the nation’s best defense (69.6 defensive rating). She has the wingspan and touch to reach back for rebounds, and swiftly disrupts passing lanes. Her presence alone alters shot attempts, while she rarely makes mistakes on switches and help. Strong is top-10 in steals (3.7 per game) and top-60 in blocks (1.6). The sophomore leads all players in defensive win shares and defensive win shares per 40 possessions.

She’s reeled in double-digit rebounds four times, including in games against AP-ranked Michigan and Ohio State.

Lauren Betts, UCLA

Betts, a 6-7 senior center, is the reigning Naismith DPOY winner as an elite rim protector (2.4 blocks per game) anchoring the UCLA defense. The Bruins are allowing 57.3 points on average, and it’s in large part due to the presence of Betts forcing opponents to second-guess coming into the paint. While none of her numbers are gaudy — she ranks 11th in blocks, 158th in defensive rebounds and nowhere of note in steals — it’s difficult to argue many other players are more impactful on that end.

Honorable mention: USC’s Jazzy Davidson (2.4 blocks per game) and Texas A&M’s Ny’Ceara Pryor (3.9 steals per game) are elite perimeter defenders. Texas redshirt senior Rori Harmon is the anchor and full-court pressure point of the Longhorns. And Ohio State’s Kennedy Cambridge is averaging a second-best 4.1 steals per game while freshmen Dalan (3.42 blocks per game), Mississippi State freshman Madison Francis (3.05) and Kentucky’s Clara Strack (3) are top three in protecting the rim.

Coach of the Year

Geno Auriemma, UConn (19-0, 9-0 Big East)

Auriemma, an eight-time winner of the Naismith award, will be shortlisted for the award, given the Huskies’ domination this year. The team could become the 11th to go undefeated, which would extend its winning streak to 56 games if they win the national championship. His last win was in 2017 when the Huskies’ four-year hold on national titles ended in a heartbreaking Final Four loss to Vic Schaefer’s Mississippi State team. The Huskies’ 69.2 defensive rating is top in Division I and their best since 2015-16, when Auriemma also won Naismith COY.

Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt (19-0, 5-0 SEC)

Compiling Coach of the Year candidates is much like casting a reality TV show. There are certain roles each fills, and Ralph steps in as the leader of an overperforming program. The Commodores are still undefeated alongside the Huskies, and have done it with significant victories over LSU and Michigan.

Vanderbilt was voted to finish seventh within its conference and could contend for the regular season title with heavyweights South Carolina and Texas. Their offense is nearly 10 points better per 100 possessions than a year ago, and their defense leveled up from middle-of-the-pack to top-35 in Division I.

Vic Schaefer, Texas (19-2, 4-2 SEC)

Schaefer’s Longhorns are a Final Four contender sitting top-five in the AP rankings throughout the entirety of the season, a sure-fire indicator of COY contention. Their offense is more potent than a year ago, and his squad knocked off then-No. 2 South Carolina and then-No. 3 UCLA on back-to-back days with a limited roster due to injuries.

For Schaefer to move up in the race, Texas will need to knock off the rest of the SEC teams on the schedule. The SEC coach who wins the regular season and/or the SEC Tournament title will have a clearer path to the nod. He won the Naismith COY honor in 2018 with Mississippi State.

Dawn Staley, South Carolina (19-1, 5-0 SEC)

Staley won three straight Naismith honors from 2022-24 while leading her Gamecocks to two national championships in three years. The consistent success keeps Staley in the running for annual COY honors. They’re doing it this season with another crop of new faces, and a lack of bench production that has been key to their recent run of Final Fours. Staley also won the Naismith honor in 2020. South Carolina’s defense held Texas to its two lowest scoring outputs of the season.

Cori Close, UCLA (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten)

UCLA’s Cori Close, the reigning Naismith COY winner, leads a squad that is 10-1 against Quad 1 teams, currently double the wins of any other team. The Bruins’ offense is 14 points per 100 possessions better than their Final Four run a year ago, with a top-five net rating of 41.6 points. UCLA’s only loss is to Texas at the Player’s Era Championship. Their stiffest test in their so-far undefeated Big Ten schedule is Iowa on Feb. 1, and back-to-back games against Michigan and Michigan State the following week.

Honorable mention: Louisville’s Jeff Walz could also contend as the Cardinals, picked fourth in their league, continue to roar through the ACC at 8-0 (18-3 overall). Same for Iowa second-year head coach Jan Jensen, whose Hawkeyes (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten) are ranked top-10 in the AP poll for the first time since Caitlin Clark left for the WNBA.

Expect the SEC to fill up the top-10 list with LSU’s Kim Mulkey (17-2, 3-2), Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks (17-3, 4-2) and potentially Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell (13-3, 5-0) if their teams’ success within a deep league continues into February.

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