LSU’s Morrow a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist

ATLANTA – LSU’s Aneesah Morrow is a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award which is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Morrow’s defensive impact has come in a variety of ways this season. Morrow ranks No. 4 nationally with 8.5 defensive rebounds per game, limiting opponents second chance opportunities. She also grabs 2.6 steals per game which ranks in the top-25 nationally and No. 3 in the SEC.

Morrow leads the country with 27 double-doubles this season. She also leads the country in rebounds (13.6 rpg) and offensive rebounds (5.2 orpg). Morrow is the only player this season with over 550 points and 400 rebounds.

The senior from Chicago is leaving her name in the record books as one of the top players in women’s college basketball history. With 101 career double-doubles, Morrow is just the second player in NCAA DI history to reach the century mark in double-doubles. With 1,665 career rebounds, she ranks No. 4 in NCAA DI history (she is 47 rebounds shy of No. 3). Morrow is also one of only eight players in NCAA DI history with 2,500+ career points and 1,500+ career rebounds.

Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalists

Lauren Betts, UCLA
Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee

Rori Harmon, Texas
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Aneesah Morrow, LSU
Sedona Prince, TCU
JJ Quinerly, West Virginia
Taylor Thierry, Ohio State
Makayla Timpson, Florida State
JuJu Watkins, USC

*LSU press release

LSU’s Johnson, Morrow, finalists on Wooden Award National Ballot

As LSU stars Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow recover and prepare for the NCAA Tournament in a couple weeks, the tandem was named to the Wooden Award Top 15 National Ballot, announced Sunday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Morrow has been dominant for the Tigers. She leads the country in rebounding (13.6 rpg) and double-doubles (27). Morrow scores 18.5 points per game and has 15 20-point games. She has four 20-rebound games, including two 20/20 games. Morrow has eight games with 20 points and 15 rebounds. She stayed active on the defensive end with over 2.5 steals per game.

The senior is leaving her name in the record books. She reached career milestones of 2,500 points and 1,500 career points this season and is one of eight players in NCAA DI history to reach both marks. She became one of two players in NCAA DI history to secure 100 career double-doubles. Morrow currently ranks No. 4 in NCAA DI history for all-time rebounds.

Morrow had a monster game in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against Florida, helping LSU score a SEC Tournament program record 101 points. Her 37 points were the most ever by a LSU player in the SEC Tournament and her 14 rebounds were the fifth most.

Johnson has continued to up her game from 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year to 2024 Second Team All-SEC to 2025 First Team All-SEC. She is LSU’s leading scorer this season with 18.9 points per game. After finishing the season last year with three straight 20-point games in the NCAA Tournament, Johnson started this season with at least 20 points in five of LSU’s first six games and has 15 total games with 20+ points this season.

Johnson has five double-doubles this season and has four games with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (one of three LSU players with multiple 25-5-5 games in a season over the past 25 years.) Defensively, Johnson has constantly been tasked with guarding the opposing team’s top perimeter player. In LSU’s win over Mississippi State, Johnson tied her career-high with 4 blocks.