Judkins, Gonzales go back-to-back with WCC honors

SAN MATEO, Calif. – For the second-consecutive year, BYU head coach Jeff Judkins was named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and sophomore guard Shaylee Gonzales won Player of the Year. BYU had three players selected to the All-WCC First Team and one more honorable mention named by the league on Wednesday.

“A coach of the year award is an award for your whole program,” Judkins said. “I am really proud of the championship we’ve won, and to accomplish that your players and coaching staff have to come through. These awards are for everyone involved in BYU basketball.”

BYU’s three players named to the All-WCC First Team include Gonzales, senior guard Paisley Harding and sophomore forward Lauren Gustin. Senior guard Tegan Graham was an All-WCC honorable mention.

“Shaylee deserves this award,” Judkins said. “She has been the best player in the league all season from start to finish and been so consistent. I am happy for the players who received these honors and recognize everyone on our team has contributed to our success this year in a lot of different ways.”

The all-time winningest basketball coach at BYU with 455 wins, Judkins earns his sixth conference coach of the year award, marking the second time in his career he has won back-to-back coaching honors. Judkins also won consecutive Mountain West Coach of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007. He won MWC Coach of the Year in 2011 and his first WCC honor in 2016 and then again in 2021.

Ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 and the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament, BYU has a record of 25-2, including a 15-1 mark in league play to clinch its fifth regular-season conference championship under Judkins last week.

Gonzales shared WCC Player of the Year honors last season but takes sole possession of the award in 2022. It is her third All-WCC First Team selection (2019, 2021).

Gonzales started all 27 games of the regular season for the Cougars, averaging a team-high 18.7 points per game. She scored in double figures in 26 of 27 games, topped 20 points 12 times and posted a career-high 35 points in February at St. Mary’s.

Not just a scorer, Gonzales also was among the league’s best rebounders, pulling down 5.7 boards per game, best passers with 4.4 assists per game and one of the most pesky defenders with 2.4 steals per contest. Gonzales had 20 games with five rebounds or more, 14 games with four assists and 10 games with three steals or more.

Harding earned All-WCC honors for the fourth time in her career, including three consecutive first-team awards.   

The senior guard averaged 17.2 points per game this year, ranking fifth in the WCC. She has scored in double figures in 24 of 27 games, including eight 20-point games and a pair of 30-point games, highlighted by a career-high 33 in a win over Utah. Harding added 3.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals

Gustin has been a double-double machine, posting 14 in the regular season, leading the league and ranking No. 19 nationally. It is her second consecutive All-WCC First-Team award.

Among the nation’s best rebounders, ranking No. 8 nationally, Gustin pulled down a WCC-best 11.7 rebounds per game while scoring 11.2 points. Gustin had 10 or more rebounds in 21 of 26 games played.

Graham leads BYU with 66 made 3-pointers this year and was fourth in the WCC in 3-point percentage at 40.0 percent from downtown. She averaged 10.1 points per game.

In addition to shooting, Graham was among the league’s best distributors, averaging 4.8 assists per game ranking second in the conference. She was also an All-WCC honorable mention last year.

See all the WCC Awards.

Up next, BYU plays as the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament. The Cougars will play Monday at 12 p.m. PT in the semifinals at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv.