JJ Quinerly Selected Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalist

West Virginia University guard JJ Quinerly is recognized as one of the best defenders in the county

West Virginia University guard JJ Quinerly / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

West Virginia University guard JJ Quinerly was listed as a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

The senior was second in the league in steals per game at 3.1, while averaging 20.5 points and 3.2 assists per game.

Quinerly solidified her position among the best in the NCAA after producing a career-high eight steals against Oklahoma Stat and had seven versus Texas Tech. In nine games this season, he swiped four or more steals, propelling her to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

The Norfolk, Virginia native had two 30-point games to wrap up the final week of the regular season. In what was possibly her final game inside the WVU Coliseum, she tied the program record with 38 points in the win against Utah and followed with a 31-point output at Cincinnati. The senior averaged 34.5 points, four assists, and 2.5 steals in the two contests.

Quinerly was just the fourth player in Big 12 history to be named the defensive player of the year multiple times, joining Courtney Paris of Oklahoma (2006-07-08), Brittney Griner of Baylor (2010-11-12-13) and Lauren Cox of Baylor (2018-19).

All four finalists are invited to attend our 2025 Naismith Awards Announcement ceremony in Tampa on Wednesday, April 2, during the women's basketball final four. There all four finalists will be recognized, and a winner will be crowned.

Quinerly and the Mountaineers are back in action on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Columbia. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the game will broadcast on ESPNEWS.

2025 Naismith Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year Finalists

 Lauren Betts - UCLA

Hannah Hidalgo - Notre Dame

JJ Quinerly - West Virginia

JuJu Watkins - USC