McNeal Repeats as American Defensive Player of the Year

IRVING, Texas – East Carolina women's basketball's Danae McNeal has been named the American Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, the league announced Friday. McNeal was also one of two unanimous First-Team All-Conference honorees and was joined in postseason recognition by Tatyana Wyche who was named to the AAC All-Newcomer squad.

McNeal has had, by almost every measure, one of the great seasons ever by an East Carolina player; and for McNeal, it all started with continuing her dominance on the defensive end of the floor where she finished the season with 93 steals, leading the AAC by a whopping 32 takeaways, in addition to blocking 15 shots. McNeal's total of 93 steals ranks seventh nationally and her average of 3.21 per game ranks eighth. McNeal has posted 17 games of three-or-more steals on the season, twice reaching her career high of seven in a game.

McNeal's 190 steals over the last two season are the most by a Pirate since Lashonda Monk posted 241 steals across 2018-19 and 2019-20. Monk was also a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. McNeal is also just the eighth ECU player to record 200 career steals and the fourth ever with 1,000 points, 200 rebounds and 200 steals (Monk, Jasmine Young, Gaynor O'Donnell).

Being asked to carry a greater load due to injuries on the team, and facing regular double- and triple-team looks, the Swansea, S.C. native was prodigious on the offense end of the floor as well. McNeal led the conference with 21.1 points per game on the year – and 22.8 in league play, tops by 1.8 points per contest – becoming just the fifth Pirate ever to score 600 points in a single season. McNeal's per-game scoring ranks 14^th in the NCAA.

She ended the regular season with 611, just four points behind Kathy Riley for fourth in program history and 15^th in the nation so far this season. Should she finish out the season atop the American Athletic Conference scoring chart (she is currently 0.3 points per game clear of Tulsa's Temira Poindexter) she would be the first ECU player to win a league scoring title since Tonya Hargrove led the CAA with 17.7 points per game during the 1990-91 season.

McNeal is also fifth in the American in free throw percentage at .816 while knocking down 120 shots at the stripe and is tied for the league lead in 30-point games. She has scored 30-or-more points five times on the season and that total also ranks third in a single season in ECU history (Rosie Thompson, Mary Denkler).

The graduate guard finished the regular season with nine-consecutive games of 20-or-more points, an ECU record. She scored 235 points in the final 10 games of the regular season, the most in a 10-game stretch by an ECU player since Jada Payne scored 245 from Nov. 17, 2013 to Jan. 2, 2014.

In a broader context, McNeal has now scored 1,186 points over the last two seasons, just three points away from reaching the highest total by a Pirate since Rosie Thompson's 1,308 in 1978-79 and 1979-80. She continues to climb the ECU career scoring list as well, now resting at 12^th all time with 1,312 points in Purple and Gold.

For her part, Wyche has gotten rolling particularly as the calendar flipped into conference play, entering without a double-double, she has posted four in Purple and Gold this season. Perhaps most impressive was her 19-point, 14-rebound outing at North Texas which set career highs in both categories.

Wyche has also been a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end, blocking 38 shots on the season, including 13 in a two-game stretch against Wichita State and Charlotte at the beginning of February. Her seven blocks against the Shockers matched the third-highest total in a game in program history and was the first game in ECU history in which a player recorded a double-double while blocking seven shots.

Save for an ill-timed injury, Wyche's stats would have been even better as she picked right up where she left off with three 10-rebound performances in the final four games of the season (she had seven boards and nine points in the one other game).

McNeal, Wyche and the Pirates kick of the 2024 AAC Tournament and the defense of their 2023 crown on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET as they take on the eighth-seeded Memphis Tigers at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.

FULL POSTSEASON HONORS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Temira Poindexter, F, Tulsa

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Danae McNeal, G, East Carolina

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Vittoria Blasigh, G, South Florida

COACH OF THE YEAR
Jason Burton, North Texas

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Delanie Crawford, G, Tulsa

SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dyani Robinson, G, North Texas

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
DesiRay Kernal, F, North Texas
Romi Levy, F, South Florida

AMBASSADOR AWARD
Chantae Embry, F, SMU

ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Dazia Lawrence, G, Charlotte
Danae McNeal, G, East Carolina*
DesiRay Kernal, F, North Texas
Tommisha Lampkin, F, North Texas
Temira Poindexter, F, Tulsa*

ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Madison Griggs, G, Memphis
Romi Levy, F, South Florida
Tiara Young, G, SMU
Tiarra East, G, Temple
Delanie Crawford, G, Tulsa

ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM
Denim DeShields, G, UAB
Mia Moore, G, UAB
Malia Fisher, F, Rice
Aleah Nelson, G, Temple
Daniela Abies, F, Wichita State

ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Mia Moore, G, UAB
Tatyana Wyche, F, East Carolina
Alasia Smith, F, Memphis
DesiRay Kernal, F, North Texas*
Romi Levy, F, South Florida

* denotes unanimous selection

Players Mentioned

Danae McNeal

Tatyana Wyche

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