OU senior Vann and Texas freshman Booker share Big 12 women’s player of the year award

Oklahoma forward Skylar Vann (24) goes against Texas forward Aaliya Moore during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Garett Fisbeck)

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Oklahoma senior Skylar Vann and Texas freshman Madison Booker have been named co-players of the year in the Big 12 Conference.

The league announced its award winners on Tuesday, when Booker became the first Big 12 freshman to be a player of the year. The 6-foot-1 forward is averaging 16.5 points and 4.9 assists a game overall, with those numbers upped to 20.2 points and 5.5 assists in 18 conference games.

Vann, a 6-foot senior forward, ranks in the league’s top 10 with 15.0 points and 7.2 rebounds a game for the regular-season champion Sooners. She was the league’s sixth player of the year each of the past two seasons.

Oklahoma’s Jennie Baranczyk is coach of the year after the Sooners defended their league title even after replacing four starters from last season’s team. Payton Verhulst, a junior transfer from Louisville, was the Big 12 newcomer of the year averaging 12.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game for the Sooners.

Booker was also named Big 12 freshman of the year, and Texas teammate DeYona Gaston the sixth player of the year. West Virginia’s JJ Quinerly was named the league’s top defensive player.

The awards were determined by a vote of the league’s 14 head coaches, and they couldn’t vote for their own players.