LEX 18 — Kentucky volleyball earned four of the Southeastern Conference's six major, season-long awards, the league announced early Wednesday afternoon.
Senior outside hitter Eva Hudson is the SEC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, while Kassie O'Brien is the SEC Freshman of the Year.
For his team's undefeated record in conference play and ninth consecutive SEC regular season title, head coach Craig Skinner earns his seventh SEC Coach of the Year nod, marking his third-straight year as the league's recipient.
Junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye joins Hudson and O'Brien on the All-SEC First Team, making Kentucky one of only two programs with at least three honorees. Texas A&M placed four Aggies on the first team; Tennessee and Texas had two first-team nods apiece.
Kentucky's junior libero Molly Tuozzo is on the ALL-SEC second team for the second-straight year, with Missouri's Maya Sands picking up the league's Libero of the Year award for the third-straight season.
Only the 15 SEC match stats are considered for SEC awards. All awards are voted on by the 16 head coaches in the league. Coaches cannot vote for members of their own teams for any award.
Hudson becomes the seventh-different player to win SEC Player of the Year in program history, joining Brooklyn DeLeye (2024), Emma Grome (2022), Alli Stumler (2021), Madison Lilley (2020), Leah Edmond (2018 and '19) and Sarah Rumley (2008).
Hudson is Kentucky’s first-ever winner of the Newcomer of the Year award, which was established in 2023 by the league office after the implementation of the transfer portal.
Hudson spent her first three years at Purdue, before transferring to Kentucky ahead of her senior season.
O’Brien is also the seventh different player in UK history to be SEC Freshman of the Year. Each of the six prior winners are the same Wildcats who went on to also win SEC Player of the Year honors (DeLeye, Grome, Stumler, Lilley, Edmond and Rumley).
O’Brien was also voted to the eight-member SEC All-Freshman Team.
Kentucky earned the No. 1 seed in the 2025 SEC Volleyball Tournament, meaning the Cats have also earned a double-bye into the quarterfinal round.
The Wildcats will open play in Savannah on Sunday at noon ET on the SEC Network, when they will face either (8) Auburn, (9) Oklahoma or (16) Arkansas inside Enmarket Arena.
Kevin Barnett, Missy Whittemore and Leah Edmond will have the call.
Eva Hudson
SEC Player of the Year, SEC Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-SEC
• 4.76 kills per set
• 2.26 digs per set
• 10+ kills in all 15 SEC matches
Kassie O’Brien
SEC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-SEC, SEC All-Freshman Team
• Led the SEC with 11.80 assists per set
• Pushed the Wildcats to a .296 in-conference hitting efficiency percentage
• 2.26 digs per set
Brooklyn DeLeye
First Team All-SEC
• 4.65 kills per set
• 2.26 digs per set
• 10+ kills in every SEC match, including 22 at Missouri on Nov. 6
Molly Tuozzo
Second Team All-SEC
• 3.81 digs per set
• 10+ digs in 13 of the 15 SEC matches
• Primary passer
Craig Skinner
SEC Coach of the Year
• Seventh time winning the award
• Third-straight SEC Coach of the Year honor
• Second undefeated SEC season in his tenure (2018)
SEC Awards Presented by Allstate
SEC Player of the Year, Eva Hudson (Kentucky)
SEC Newcomer of the Year, Eva Hudson (Kentucky)
SEC Freshman of the Year, Kassie O’Brien (Kentucky)
SEC Coach of the Year, Craig Skinner (Kentucky)
SEC Libero of the Year, Maya Sands (Mizzou)
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Jackie Moore (Vanderbilt)
For more on Kentucky volleyball and all of the Wildcats, join us on BBN Tonight, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.
