MEAC Announces 2025 Women’s Basketball All-Conference Awards

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk State graduate student guard Diamond Johnson was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday evening in the Chrysler Hall during the third annual MEAC BBT Awards.   

Saniyah King of Howard was named Rookie of the Year, while Laila Lawrence senior forward from Coppin State earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Norfolk State’s Larry Vickers was named Coach of the Year.  
 
Morgan State’s Naya Ojukwu earned Newcomer of the Year, while Norfolk State’s Anjanae Richardson was awarded the 6th Player of the Year.   

All awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. 

Johnson was named Player of the Year after earning a total of eight MEAC weekly honors as the Spartans’ leading scorer, averaging 19.2 points per game.  She ranked second in the MEAC in assists (4.3) and led the conference in steals per game (3.6), totaling 111 for the season. Johnson also finished second in the conference in field-goal percentage (47.5).  She played a pivotal role in two milestone victories for Norfolk State over Auburn and Missouri. Johnson recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against Auburn and added 17 points and four assists in a victory over Missouri.  Nationally, Johnson stands as the only active Division I player with at least 2,000 points, 600 rebounds, 390 assists, and 300 steals. Her performances earned her national recognition as a semifinalist for the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and a late-season addition to the Dawn Staley Award watchlist.  Johnson helped guide Norfolk State to its first-ever undefeated conference season (14-0) and a perfect 13-0 record at home. 

King ranked first amongst rookies in scoring and finished as the second-leading scorer for Howard with 14.4 points per game in MEAC play. She earned MEAC Rookie of the Week honors 11 times and recorded 19 double-digit scoring games, including a career-high 25 points against Morgan State on Feb. 22.  King led the MEAC in assists (4.7) and ranked fifth in steals (1.9) per game, helping Howard to a 12-2 conference record and a second-place finish in the standings. 

Lawrence a senior from Lewisville, Texas, was one of the conference’s most dynamic two-way players this season, earning her second career MEAC Defensive Player of the Year accolade. She finished fourth in the nation with 19 double-doubles and ranked second in the conference in steals per game (2.6). Lawrence recorded a season-high four blocks against NJIT on Dec. 3, 2024, and followed up with a season-high six steals against Maine on Dec. 29, 2024. She also earned five MEAC Defensive Player of the Week awards, two of which included both Defensive Player and Player of the Week honors. 

Ojukwu was the second-leading scorer in MEAC play, averaging 16.5 points per game throughout the conference season. She scored in double figures in all but one game and shot an impressive 49 percent from the field. The redshirt freshman recorded seven double-doubles on the season, including a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds against Howard on Feb. 22. Ojukwu finished fourth in the conference in rebounds per game (9.1) helping Morgan State to a fifth-place finish in the standings. 

Richardson was a key contributor to Norfolk State’s dominant season, averaging 10.1 points, 2.1 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.  Richardson played a pivotal role in the win over William & Mary, scoring 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She also set a career-high with 23 points and six assists against Virginia-Lynchburg. Finishing as the team’s third-leading scorer with 304 total points, Richardson recorded 16 double-digit scoring performances for Norfolk State and helped lead her team to an impressive 27-4 record and an undefeated conference season. 

Vickers earned the MEAC Coach of the Year honor for the third consecutive season, en route to leading Norfolk State to its third consecutive MEAC regular-season title. Norfolk State finished the MEAC regular season undefeated, marking the first perfect conference record since North Carolina A&T’s 16-0 run in the 2018-2019 season, while also holding the longest active home winning streak in all of Division I at 26 games. Vickers’ team secured two milestone victories etching the 2024-25 season in program history after defeating Missouri (SEC) 57-54 on Nov. 10 and Auburn (SEC) 63-57 on Dec. 29. Norfolk State led the conference in scoring, averaging 75 points per game, while also being the MEAC’s best defensive team, allowing just 57 points per game. Norfolk State received national attention, finishing fifth in the College Insider Mid-Major Women’s Poll and eighth in the Mid-Major World Exposure Report Poll. Vickers, in his ninth season, was named to the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Watchlist, helping lift the program to its second consecutive 27-win season. 

Johnson and Lawrence are joined by Norfolk State’s Kierra Wheeler, Howard’s Destiny Howell and Coppin State’s Angel Jones as the 2025 All-MEAC First Team. 

The 2025 MEAC Basketball Tournament begins Wednesday, March 12, and runs through Saturday, March 15, at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.