What fun is it to limit preseason awards picks to the Horizon League Player of the Year and two or three all-league teams? Why not take a shot at every HL award, including those that are flat-out absurd to project at this stage?
Don’t worry, you’re in luck:
| Award | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| Coach of the Year | Melissa Jackson | Youngstown State |
| Newcomer of the Year | Elisa Mevius | Green Bay |
| Freshman of the Year | Gaia Castelli | Northern Kentucky |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Paulina Hernandez | Youngstown State |
| Sixth Player of the Year | Sereniti Roberts-Adams | Oakland |
The Horizon League Coach of the Year award always seems to be behind schedule. Former Cleveland State leader Chris Kielsmeier won it in 2023-24, the season after the Vikings broke through with an NCAA Tournament appearance. Next up was Purdue Fort Wayne’s Maria Marchesano, one year later than the Mastodons’ true breakout campaign. The reigning winner is Kayla Karius of Green Bay, who took the honor after her second title leading the Phoenix, not her first. So, with all of that in mind, it seems appropriate that this season becomes Melissa Jackson’s turn to win it. The Youngstown State boss took over a Penguins program in chaos, and by year two, had YSU within a hair of the school’s first conference tournament title since 2000. With a strong culture, incredible year-to-year retention, and a loaded roster, the Guins could easily end that drought in March.
Elisa Mevius may or may not end up being the Horizon League’s Newcomer of the Year, but it’s probably safe to say that she has the highest floor of any potential pick. After all, she’s won an Olympic gold medal as a member of Germany’s 3×3 team and was a major contributor for a top program, Oregon, in 2024-25 (prior to losing most of last season to injury). Mevius is one of those types of guards Green Bay always seems to have in droves: above-average size, elite playmaking, great on both ends, and able to score from most areas of the floor. In her last full campaign with the Ducks, she averaged 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game, including four double-digit outings against Big Ten competition. Before her time at Oregon, Mevius spent two years at Siena and won five major MAAC (now Metro Conference) awards, including Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Choosing a preseason Freshman of the Year is a foolish exercise, for several reasons. So if, for some reason, you’ve committed to doing so, it helps to have a reasonable plan of attack. The Horizon League should have many worthwhile rookies again this season, with no fewer than 37 players claiming freshman eligibility (including at least two on every conference team, except Cleveland State). Picking an award like this, though, isn’t really a matter of selecting the best freshman as much as it is identifying which of the 37 will make the biggest early impact. To that end, why not Northern Kentucky point guard Gaia Castelli? Castelli is far from a typical rookie, as she has an elevated level of maturity from playing professionally in Italy, and from taking a gap year before heading to college. NKU coach Jeff Hans has consistently praised her experience (certainly, a rare compliment for a freshman), quickness, and playmaking ability, and it sounds like she has the chance to be a significant contributor for the Norse.
There is no shortage of great defensive players in the Horizon League. Two members of last year’s all-defensive team return, including Robert Morris’ Eva Levingston and Jada Leonard, now of Youngstown State. Green Bay, thanks to the likes of Mevius and Maddy Skorupski, won’t have a shortage of candidates either. However, the Penguins’ Paulina Hernandez – the HL’s reigning Sixth Player of the Year – stands apart as someone who produced nationally-relevant defense in 2025-26, ahead of what should be an expanded role in the coming season. In just 16 minutes per game, Hernandez ranked 28th in Division I with 1.8 blocked shots, with her per-40 average of 4.5 ranking sixth. Even if her opponent manages to get a shot away, there’s a decent chance that the 6-2 Milwaukee-area native will come up with length-affected miss shortly after; she’s also a very strong rebounder.
Do the HL’s coaches know their starting lineups at this point? Probably not, but the HoriZone Roundtable staff writers took their best guesses for each of the conference’s 12 teams anyway, as seen in our team previews. Outside of the starting fives listed, and with some broad account made for team-level expectations, Oakland’s Sereniti Roberts-Adams is the sort of player who should have a great chance to be the Horizon League’s Sixth Player of the Year. Roberts-Adams is set to reprise her role as part of Keisha Newell’s post rotation, and the Chicagoan provides the sort of reliability that coaches love. She converted an outstanding 56.3 percent of her field goal attempts last year, though her true calling card is on the glass, where she produced a 17.7 percent rebounding rate – the 113th highest nationally. With a double-double against Detroit Mercy in February, followed by 16 points in a win over Purdue Fort Wayne and ten in OU’s near-upset of Cleveland State in the HL tournament, Roberts-Adams is capable of growing into a larger role if the game demands it.
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