Breanna Stewart, affectionately known as “Stewie” by friends, family and fans, was recently selected as espnW’s Player of the Year. Stewart attends UConn, where she was always expected to make it this far by everyone who knows her. Now that she is expected to become the number one draft pick of the WNBA—a selection that just about everyone believes the Storm will select come April—people are only expecting more out of the rising star.

Stewart hails from Syracuse, New York. At 6’4, she has an obvious height advantage that is always great on the court, but her skill far surpasses height alone. With an average of 19.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, Stewart is well known for her double high scores, beating the Division I’s record of 300 assists with 404, and the same in her blocked shots with a record of 395. And with a 69-game winning streak and a 32-0 season, she has led the Huskies toward an incredible year. They may go undefeated for six years after losing only one game out of 117.

For her part, Stewart already realizes that she is going to miss the experience—even if she does end up making it even bigger and better in the WNBA. “It's coming to an end, and it's coming very quickly. I'm just trying to enjoy it. Obviously it is going to be sad. Nothing is going to be like this here with these coaches and these players. The best way to remember everything is to enjoy it and to go out the way you want to go out,” she said. She sounds pretty grounded as well as talented, which will surely make her even more of an asset on the Storm.

Stewart is hoping to notch at least one more achievement before she enters the WNBA as well: her fourth NCAA championship with the Huskies. And UConn is certainly behind her in that desire. In six more games we will find out if that historical moment will happen after all. UConn coach Geno Auriemma has famously said that he only wants to get Stewart more time on the court, giving her more of chance to really shine during her senior year. Auriemma was also voted as Coach of the Year, which was not a big surprise.

To see the other players and honorees of the year, be sure to visit the ESPN website.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia