Virginia Tech Graduate Center graduate Elizabeth Kitley was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, while Notre Dame freshman Hannah Hidalgo was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. It became the headliner of the 2023 season. ACC Women’s Basketball Team and Individual Award Winners.
The 2023-24 All-ACC Team was selected by the league’s head coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel.
Syracuse’s Felisha Leggett-Jack was named ACC Coach of the Year, and Duke freshman Oluchi Onanwa became the sixth ACC Player of the Year to win the award. Pitt’s Riatu King was named the Most Improved Player.
Kitley is the third player in league history to earn ACC Player of the Year honors in three consecutive seasons, joining Duke’s Alana Beard (2002-04) and Maryland’s Alyssa Thomas (2012-14). He became a player. The Summerfield, N.C., native ranks second in the ACC in scoring with 22.8 points and is the only player in the conference averaging more than 11.0 rebounds per game (11.4 rebounds). A six-time recipient of the award, Kitley tied the league record for most ACC Player of the Week awards and averaged a conference-best 24.0 points and 11.2 rebounds in ACC games. Kitley, who became the ACC’s all-time leading rebounder on Dec. 21, currently ranks second on the ACC’s all-time scoring list with 2,709 points.
Hidalgo is the second player in league history to earn Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season. He joined former Duke graduate Elizabeth Williams in 2012. The Haddonfield, N.J., native finished her first collegiate season leading the ACC in points per game with 23.8 and leading the nation in steals (141) and steals per game (4.9). Hidalgo scored in double figures in all 28 games this season and had a conference-high 24 20-point attempts, the most ACC players since ND’s Arike Ogunbowale had 27 points in 2018-19. This is the highest record since.
Leggett Jack became the first Syracuse coach to win the ACC Coach of the Year Award after leading the Orange to a 13-5 conference record and a No. 3 seed in the 2024 Alley ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Syracuse, which was expected to finish ninth in the Blue Ribbon Panel’s predicted completion order for the year, ended up tied for second in the final regular season standings. Leggett-Jack, who was named ESPN.com’s Coach of the Week on Feb. 12, led the Orange to 23 wins, including four against ranked opponents.
Onanwa appeared in all 29 games off the bench this season and averaged 9.6 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds for Duke. The Boston, Massachusetts native excelled under the basket, averaging 3.9 defensive rebounds and 2.2 offensive rebounds per game. On January 25, Okananwa grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds in a key conference win against Florida State. The freshman became the first Duke player to win the ACC Player of the Year award.
King finished the regular season with 18 total double-doubles this season, second most in the ACC. King, a Washington native, averaged 9.4 points and 7.6 rebounds in 2022-23, but this season he averaged 18.8 points and 10.4 rebounds, making him one of only two players in the conference to average a double-double. He became one of the King scored 20 or more points in 11 games this year, including a season-high 34 points against nationally ranked Notre Dame on January 4. As the first Pitt player to win the top award, King also earned a spot on the All-ACC First Team.
The 2023-24 season begins on Wednesday with the first round of the 2024 Alley ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. All Greensboro Coliseum games can be viewed on the ACC Network, except for Sunday’s title game. Exception will air on ESPN at 1 p.m.
2023-24 All-ACC Women’s Basketball Team
- Player of the Year: Elizabeth Kitley, Gr., C, Virginia Tech
- Defensive Player of the Year: Hannah Hidalgo, Fr., G, Notre Dame
- Rookie of the Year: Hannah Hidalgo, G, Notre Dame
- Coach of the Year: Felisha Legette-Jack, Syracuse
- Sixth Player of the Year: Oluchi Okananwa, Fr., G, Duke
- Most Improved Player: Liatu King, Sr., F, Pitt
All-ACC First Team
- Elizabeth Kitley, Gr., C, Virginia Tech – 1,603
- Dyaisha Fair, Gr., G, Syracuse – 1,463
- Hannah Hidalgo, Fr., G, Notre Dame – 1,461
- Georgia Amoore, Sr., G, Virginia Tech – 1,402
- Ta’Niya Latson, So., G, Florida State – 1,274
- Deja Kelly, Sr., G, North Carolina – 921
- Aziaha James, Jr., G, NC State – 871
- Saniya Rivers, Jr., G, NC State – 815
- Makayla Timpson, Jr., F, Florida State – 766
- Liatu King, Sr., F, Pitt – 765
All-ACC Second Team
- Maddy Westbeld, Jr., F, Notre Dame – 715
- Amari Robinson, Gr., F, Clemson – 698
- Sonia Citron, Jr., G, Notre Dame – 651
- Alyssa Ustby, Sr., G/F, North Carolina – 573
- Kiki Jefferson, Gr., G, Louisville – 504
- Kymora Johnson, Fr., G, Virginia – 437
- Tonie Morgan, So., G, Georgia Tech – 358
- Kara Dunn, So., G, Georgia Tech – 349
- Reigan Richardson, Jr., G, Duke – 252
- Olivia Cochran, Sr., F, Louisville – 224
All-Defensive Team
- Hannah Hidalgo, Fr., G, Notre Dame – 326
- Makayla Timpson, Jr., F, Florida State – 231
- Elizabeth Kitley, Gr., C, Virginia Tech – 170
- Saniya Rivers, Jr., G, NC State – 135
- Dontavia Waggoner, Sr., G, Boston College – 102
All-Freshman Team
- Hannah Hidalgo, G, Notre Dame – 412
- Kymora Johnson, G, Virginia – 304
- Zoe Brooks, G, NC State – 162
- Oluchi Okananwa, G, Duke – 125
- Alyssa Latham, F, Syracuse – 120
ACC Most Improved
- Liatu King, Pitt – 237
- Aziaha James, NC State – 226
- Kara Dunn, Georgia Tech – 121
ACC Sixth Player
- Oluchi Okananwa, Duke – 298
- Zoe Brooks, NC State – 277
- Indya Nivar, North Carolina – 98
ACC Coach of the Year
- Felisha Legette-Jack, Syracuse – 293
- Kenny Brooks, Virginia Tech – 214
- Wes Moore, NC State – 164
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