MOLINE, Ill. — On the eve of Southern’s first game at the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference tournament, graduate forward Abby Brockmeyer was named the Missouri Valley Conference Jackie Stiles Player of the Year and head coach Cindy Stein was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. This is the first time a Saluki has won Player of the Year since Amy Rakers in 1990, and the first time a Saluki head coach has won Coach of the Year since Dana Eikenberg in 2007.

This is Brockmeyer’s second time earning an individual MVC award, as she was the conference Freshman of the Year in 2018. The Raymond, Ill. native finished the regular season first in the MVC in rebounds (10.3 per game), first in double-doubles (14) and second in scoring (16.4 points per game). Brockmeyer notched a double-double in half of Southern’s games this season, and is the only MVC player averaging a double-double per game. Defensively, finished the season with 28 blocks and 37 steals, and averaged 6.7 defensive rebounds per game. Brockmeyer headlined the NCAA Starting 5 on Dec. 5 after averaging 25.5 points and 17 rebounds per game at the Compass Challenge against Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois. Brockmeyer was also named MVC Player of the Week twice this season.

Stein earned Coach of the Year honors after leading Southern to a regular season MVC title for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The Salukis were picked to finish eighth in the preseason MVC poll. Stein has led Southern to an 11-win improvement from last season, with a chance to improve upon that in the conference tournament. Stein previously engineered SIU’s biggest single-season turnaround in her second year at Southern (5 wins in 2013-14 to 17 wins in 2014-15). Stein, who is set to retire after this season, is the second-winningest coach in SIU history.