MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior guard
JJ Quinerly of the West Virginia University women's basketball team has earned a spot on the 2024-25 Preseason All-Big 12 Team, as one of three unanimous selections, the conference announced Thursday.
Additionally, the Mountaineers we selected to finish fifth and received one first place vote in the preseason poll. League coaches voted on the awards and poll and were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The Preseason All-Big 12 selection is the second of Quinerly's career. Last year she was also named to the preseason team before collecting her second straight first team all-conference and defensive team honor at the conclusion of the regular season.
During her junior campaign, Quinerly broke onto the national scene earning honorable mention All-American honors and becoming an Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Finalist, a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist Player and to the WBCA Player of the Year Watchlist.
Additionally, Quinerly racked up a career-high 19.8 points per game while adding 97 steals. She finished with 20 or more points in a game 16 times and hit double figures in 32 games.
A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Quinerly has averaged 14.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game for her career. Her steals per game ranks inside the program's top 10 at No. 7 and her 231 total steals are No. 8.
Quinerly became the fourth Mountaineer to be named to the league's All-Freshman Team three seasons ago, joining Bria Holmes (2013), Tynice Martin (2016) and Madisen Smith (2019).
K-State was selected as the favorite in the league's preseason poll for the first time in program history while Ayoka Lee is the Conference's Preseason Player of the Year. Lee and Iowa State's Audi Crooks join Quinerly as unanimous selections to the team.
2024-25 league action is set to commence Saturday, Dec. 21 as this year marks the Conference's first with 16 members. The regular season will be followed by the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship, which will take place in Kansas City's T-Mobile Center for the second consecutive season.
The current league members combined to go 8-0 in their first game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament while 15 of the 16 teams finished the 2023-24 season in the top 101 of the NET rankings. Four Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 16 of ESPN's Women's Basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25, tied for the most of any league.
2024-25 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Honors
Preseason Team:
Sarah Andrews, Baylor
Aaronette Vonleh, Baylor
Kaitlin Peterson, UCF
Audi Crooks, Iowa State*
S'Mya Nichols, Kansas
Ayoka Lee, K-State*
Serena Sundell, K-State
Hailey Van Lith, TCU
Gianna Kneepkens, Utah
JJ Quinerly, West Virginia*
*Indicates unanimous selection
Preseason Player of the Year
Ayoka Lee, K-State
Preseason Co-Newcomers of the Year
Aaronette Vonleh, Baylor
Hailey Van Lith, TCU
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Tabitha Betson, Colorado
2024-25 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
- K-State (7), 211 points
- Iowa State (6), 209 points
- Baylor (2), 194 points
- TCU, 185 points
- West Virginia (1), 184 points
- Utah, 149 points
- Arizona, 136 points
- Kansas, 128 points
- Colorado, 113 points
- Texas Tech, 84 points
- Oklahoma State, 80 points
- BYU, 59 points
- Cincinnati, 56 points
- UCF, 54 points
- Arizona State, 51 points
- Houston, 27 points
(first-place votes)
