Cleveland State’s Destiny Leo is the 2022-23 HoriZone Roundtable Player of the Year, following a campaign in which the junior led the Vikings to several program records, including a 16-game winning streak, along with high-water marks for conference and overall victories. Along the way, Leo led the HL in scoring while also standing as one of the HL’s better defensive players, both qualities that contributed to a trio of conference player of the week honors.
Her Vikings teammates are featured heavily in the selections, as point guard Deja Williams (who often spells Leo) grabbed our Sixth Player of the Year award. Brittni Moore (second team) and Amele Ngwafang (third team) made the all-league teams, while Jordana Reisma and Barbara Zieniewska are included in the freshman and defensive lineups, respectively.
Horizon League regular season champion Green Bay, which always presents the dilemma of selecting individuals from well-balanced team accomplishments, nevertheless boasts Defensive Player of the Year Bailey Butler as its headliner. Butler, an extremely versatile player who also appears on our all-conference first team, is joined by second-teamer Sydney Levy, who enjoyed a resurgent senior season and led the Phoenix in scoring, helping to cover for the departure of Hailey Oskey and injuries to Maddy Schreiber and Julia Hartwig.
IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne, arguably the two most surprising teams in the conference, are also well represented. The Mastodons’ Maria Marchesano is our Coach of the Year, as she guided PFW to its first double-digit win total since the 2013-14 season, including upsets of Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky, while the Dons threatened for a top-five league finish. Two of her star players, Amellia Bromenschenkel and Shayla Sellers, join the second-year bench boss in receiving recognition.
A bit down the road, the Jaguars took an expected rebuilding season all the way to a third-place finish in the standings, thanks to the likes of veteran guard Destiny Perkins (first team), sharpshooter Rachel Kent (second team), and bruising forward Jazmyn Turner (second team).
Player of the Year: Destiny Leo, Cleveland State
Coach of the Year: Maria Marchesano, Purdue Fort Wayne
Freshman of the Year: Brooke Quarles-Daniels, Oakland
Defensive Player of the Year: Bailey Butler, Green Bay
Sixth Player of the Year: Deja Williams, Cleveland State
All-League First Team
Destiny Leo, Cleveland State
Lilly Ritz, Youngstown State
Lindsey Duvall, Northern Kentucky
Bailey Butler, Green Bay
Destiny Perkins, IUPUI
All-League Second Team
Amellia Bromenschenkel, Purdue Fort Wayne
Sydney Levy, Green Bay
Jazmyn Turner, IUPUI
Brittni Moore, Cleveland State
Rachel Kent, IUPUI
All-League Third Team
Shayla Sellers, Purdue Fort Wayne
Kailee Davis, Northern Kentucky
Bryce Nixon, Wright State
Megan Callahan, Youngstown State
Amele Ngwafang, Cleveland State
All-Freshman Team
Brooke Quarles-Daniels, Oakland
Amaya Burch, Detroit Mercy
Jordana Reisma, Cleveland State
Makiya Miller, Wright State
Kamy Peppler, Milwaukee
All-Defensive Team
Bailey Butler, Green Bay
Phoenix Gedeon, Robert Morris
Ivy Turner, Northern Kentucky
Emma Trawally Porta, Detroit Mercy
Barbara Zieniewska, Cleveland State
