South Carolina's Aliyah Boston was named the Division I freshman of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Wednesday. Boston was also espnW's national freshman of the year, and won the honor from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and from the SEC.
Boston, a 6-foot-5 forward, started all 33 games for the Gamecocks, who went 32-1, won the SEC regular-season and tournament titles, and finished ranked No. 1. Boston averaged 12.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Her 86 blocks were a program record for a freshman. She had 13 double-doubles.
Boston shot 60.8% from the field and 73.8% from the line. She had 42 steals, and was named the SEC's defensive player of the year, along with being the league's top rookie and first-team All-SEC.
This is the fourth season the WBCA has presented this award, and Boston is the third SEC player to win it. Previous winners were Kentucky's Rhyne Howard (2019), Texas A&M's Chennedy Carter (2018) and Maryland's Destiny Slocum (2017). Slocum then transferred to Oregon State.
