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23 April 2026  5 min read

2025/26 NBL Awards week: WNBL Division One

After Monday's NBL Division Three honours, Tuesday's WNBL Division Two awards and yesterday's NBL Division Two selections, it's time for the standouts from D1W to shine.

All 11 D1W teams were asked to vote on shortlisted players for each award, without being able to vote for their own players.

The following external voters were also involved in the process:

• Ian Cawthorne - Basketball England's PR & Communications Manager
• Luke Simcock - Basketball England's Interim Social Media Lead
• Dan Cox - Basketball England's Leagues, Competitions and Member Services Manager
• Darren Paul - Writer and contributor for FocusHoops, weekly D1W POTW/TOTW selector
• Caz Bullock - Writer and contributor for FocusHoops, WNBL commentator

Congratulations to all those chosen and don’t forget you can still attend this weekend's NBL Playoff Finals weekend, including the D1W showpiece between London Cavaliers and Anglia Ruskin University.

To secure your tickets, click the button below.

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Wilson MVP

Capping off an incredible debut season, Worcester's Ciani Montgomery is this season's Wilson D1W MVP.

The talented American guard led all players in the regular-season with 26.2 efficiency per game (EPG), 23.6PPG and a joint-best 4.6SPG.

Adding an impressive 7.8RPG and 4.4APG, it was a season to remember for the Wolves' standout.

Montgomery's efficiency and steals will be enough to get her into the top ten all-time lists for D1W, and her general level of play at both ends of the court caught the eye of players and coaches across D1W.

Wilson Coach of the Year

After leading his side to January's WNBL National Cup Final and success across the competitive regular-season, London Cavaliers' Robbie Connell is this season's D1W Coach of the Year.

After finishing ninth a year ago, Connell has overseen a remarkable rise for the Cavs that saw them finish top of the pile at 17-3 in 2025/26.

Marshalling an offence that dropped a league-best 76.4PPG this season, Connell's side conceded just 62.2PPG in return.

D1W Team of the Year

MVP Montgomery is joined in the Team of the Year by a pair of Cavaliers' standouts in Chinwe Iwunze and Janice Monakana.

Iwunze (19.4PPG, 7.7RPG, 2.8SPG, 19.8PPG) played at a high level all season long, and forward Monakana (20.4PPG, 7.9EPG, 18.8EPG) also did her bit as she topped the league winner's scoring charts.

CoLA Southwark Pride's Ayla Habbal and Endeavour Ipswich Basketball's Harriet Welham both return from this side a year ago, continuing their impressive performance levels.

Habbal (17.2PPG, 6.0RPG, 5.2APG, 3.2SPG, 17.0EPG) played a dual-threat role for the league runners up, becoming the only player this season to average 6.0RPG and 5.0APG, whilst Welham (23.3PPG, 8.6RPG, 4.1APG, 3.1SPG, 21.1EPG) finished narrowly behind MVP Montgomery for the league's scoring title.

British Team of the Year

Iwunze, Monakana, Habbal and Welham all make the cut for the league's British Team of the Year, highlighting the strength of domestic talent on display in D1W.

The only new addition is Anglia Ruskin's Tia Freeman (19.2PPG, 5.7RPG, 15.7EPG) after the ARU star helped push her side to a 13-7 record and third place in the standings.

Defensive Player of the Year

MVP Montgomery received a share of the first place votes on offer, but ultimately the American was pipped to Defensive Player of the Year honours by Manchester's Success Odemwingie.

The young Manchester guard impressed those across D1W with her tenacious defensive efforts, helping the Mystics to concede just 59.9PPG, the second-lowest in the league.

With 2.6SPG to go with 4.3 defensive boards per outing, Odemwingie was a deserved winner for 2025/26.

U19 Player of the Year

Given her inclusion in the league's Team of the Year, it's no surprise to see Ayla Habbal making it back-to-back D1W U19 Player of the Year awards.

Continuing her rise as one of the top young prospects in the game, CoLA's standout guard was an integral part of her team's success this season, with no other U19 player able to come close to her 17.2PPG, 6.0RPG, 5.2APG, 3.2SPG, 17.0EPG splits.

Best Game Day Experience

Making it two wins in a row, Worcester Wolves were once again voted as the place to be for enjoying D1W action this season.

After also hosting January's National Cup Finals, Worcester University clearly remains as one of the top venues in the country to take in the game, boasting a great offering for players and fans alike.

Senior Playoff Finals

Today's awards continue the week of NBL and WNBL end-of-season honours in the lead up to this weekend's senior playoff finals at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester.

To purchase tickets for the event, please click the button below. Coverage of the event will be available through our NBL social channels, as will the remaining awards from the rest of this week.

Buy Tickets Here