Naismith women's college awards: Full list of winners announced ft. JuJu Watkins
The 2025 Naismith Honors have been announced. On Wednesday, the winners for the 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, the 2025 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year and the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year were revealed.
Naismith is known for its prestige as a voting committee of basketball coaches, administrators and journalists works together to identify the top performers in women's basketball.
Let's discuss who was given Naismith Honors this year.
Naismith women's college award winners
2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy
The Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy recognizes the most outstanding player in women's college basketball. This year, the honor was given to USC star JuJu Watkins, making her the 10th woman to receive the award at both the collegiate and high school levels, having won the prep trophy in 2023.
Watkins' season was cut short by an ACL tear in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the injury doesn't take away from her play as a sophomore. She led USC in both points, with 23.9 per game, and assists, with 3.4.
The star guard helped lead the Trojans to a No. 1 seed in the tournament. After being named the National Freshman of the Year last season, Watkins' dominance continues with the Naismith Trophy.
2025 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year
The Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year recognizes the player whose defensive contributions had the biggest impact on her team. The 2025 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year is UCLA's Lauren Betts.
Betts is a strong two-way force at center. She led the Bruins in points, rebounds, and blocks this season. Of her 9.6 average rebounds, 5.6 are defensive, and she adds 3.0 blocks and 0.9 steals per game.
The junior star has been a significant part of UCLA's success this season, and her team is still competing in the NCAA Tournament. Betts and the Bruins are set to face UConn in the Final Four. She will look to use her defensive expertise to continue her team's March Madness run.
2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year
The Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year is given to the coach who has been most influential to their team's success this season. UCLA took home two Naismith Awards this season, as Cori Close received the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year award.
Close has been at UCLA since 2011 and has led the program to its first Final Four appearance this season. The Bruins have also made three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances under Close's leadership.