EAGLESNESTCAST ASUN WBB PRESEASON AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

5’4 GR G TK Morehouse, Florida Gulf Coast

TK is an explosive, dynamic guard that has the ability to takeover games for FGCU. She has cemented herself as the top guard in the ASUN Conference, and the Eagles will rely on her with the hopes of winning another ASUN Conference regular season, and post season title this season. TK’s tenacity, ability to drive to the basket, dish the ball out, and also shoot the ball from beyond the arc, has her in this position, as the ASUN Conference’s top player.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

5’11 SO G/F Skyler Gill, Northern Alabama

Skyler finished last season with 76 blocks, and 36 steals in her freshman season for the Lions. While defensively, teams weren’t getting much past her, she also averaged 9.7 ppg, and 9.0 rpg for UNA, and was the 3rd leading scorer for the team. Gill returns to UNA as the leading scorer this season, after Macey Lee (transferred to Samford University), and Julia Strachan (graduated) are no longer with the team. Skyler won co-defensive player of the year last season, sharing the award with Jazz Bond from UNF.

COACH OF THE YEAR:

Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast

Who else would win this award? Karl Smesko continues to dominate the ASUN Conference every season, and the Eagles continue to have the most talented squad yearly, full of depth. Kierstan Bell now plays in the WNBA for the Las Vegas Aces, and TK Morehouse (14.7 ppg), returns as a Graduate Student, to lead the Eagles. Off season additions from D-1 schools include: 5’8 GR G Alyza Winston (Mississippi State), 5’8 GR G Sophia Stiles (Montana), 5’9 R-JR G Brylee Bartram (Vanderbilt), and 6’0 F Uju Ezeudu (Denver). It looks like FGCU and Liberty are headed on a collision course to face each other in the ASUN Championship, and if this occurs, we will see Karl Smesko and Carey Green square off one final time, before the Flames head to Conference USA.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM:

5’4 GR G TK Morehouse, Florida Gulf Coast

-Averaged 14.7 ppg last season for the Eagles.

-3rd in scoring last season in ASUN Conference.

-First Team All-ASUN, ASUN All Tournament Team last season.

6’0 SR F Uju Ezeudu, Florida Gulf Coast

-Led Denver University in scoring (17.9 ppg), and rebounds per game (8.0 rpg).

-3rd leading scorer (17.9 ppg), and 4th leading rebounder (8.0 rpg) in the Summit league last year.

-All-Summit 2nd Team (’20-’21, ’21-’22), Two time Summit League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week

5’6 GR G Amani Johnson, Kennesaw State

-Averaged 13.1 ppg last season for the Owls as a Senior.

-4th in scoring last season in ASUN Conference.

-ASUN All-Conference 2nd Team, ASUN All-Academic Team last season.

5’5 GR G Jaela Johnson, Bellarmine

-Led Knights in scoring, averaging 12.8 ppg last season as a Senior.

-5th in scoring last season in the ASUN Conference.

6’3 GR C Mya Berkman, Liberty

-Led Flames in scoring (12.3 ppg), and rebounds (7.4 rpg) as a Senior.

-8th in scoring last season in the ASUN Conference.

-All-ASUN 1st Team, ASUN All-Academic Team last season as a R-JR.

5’11 GR G Yamia Johnson, Austin Peay

-Led Governors in scoring last season, averaging 15.1 ppg as a Senior.

-Yamia finished as the 4th leading scorer in the OVC, while only starting one game last season, and playing 821 minutes in 33 games.

OVC Awards include:

-2021-22 First Team All-OVC
-2020-21 First Team All-OVC
-2022 WBI All-Tournament Team

5’6 5th G Imari Martin, Jacksonville State

-Led JSU in scoring, averaging 10.6 ppg as a Senior.

-Finished as a Top 5 3 point shooter (30%) in the ASUN Conference last season as a Senior.

-Finished 17th in ppg in the ASUN Conference last season.

5’9 R-JR G Jalyn Holcomb, Lipscomb

-Led Bisons in scoring, averaging 10.2 ppg last season as a Redshirt Sophomore.

-Finished 20th in ppg in the ASUN Conference last season.

5-10 R-SR G Deshari Graham, Jacksonville

-Averaged 9.9 ppg last season for the Dolphins, and was 2nd leading scorer for the team as a Redshirt Junior.

-Deshari returns as leading scorer for JU, after Taylor Hawks graduated.

-Finished 22nd in ppg in the ASUN Conference last season.