LAWRENCE, Kan. – The standout Kansas duo of freshman forward Jaliya Davis and junior guard S’Mya Nichols received All-Big 12 honors on Tuesday. Davis was unanimously named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, an All-Freshman Team selection and First Team All-Big 12, while Nichols earned her third consecutive All-Big 12 First Team selection.
The All-Big 12 honors were chosen by a vote of the league's head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. This marks the third time Kansas has had two players earn All-Big 12 First Team honors, with each happening in the past four years.
Davis (Overland Park, Kan.) capped off her historic freshman season with a trio of All-Big 12 honors. She becomes the first Jayhawk to be named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and joins Nichols as the only Kansas freshman to earn All-Big 12 First Team recognition. Davis won the Big 12 Freshman of the Week award in each of the last nine weeks of the regular season, setting a new Big 12 and Power Conference record for consecutive weekly honors. She was also named the USBWA Co-National Freshman of the Week on Feb. 10.
Davis ranked second in the Big 12 in scoring during league play, averaging 21.5 points per game, while shooting a league-leading 63.6 percent (136-214) from the field. She has scored in double figures in all 20 games she’s appeared in this season, with 13 games of 20+ points, including 12 during Big 12 play. Davis is tied for seventh in school history for 20-point games in a season, while that mark also ranks fifth all-time among Big 12 freshman. Davis ended the regular season with 419 points in 20 games, good for an average of 21.0 points per game. Her scoring total is ranked fourth in school history by a freshman and she’s on pace to become just the second freshman in Big 12 history to average more than 20 points per game.
Kansas has now had an All-Big 12 Freshman Team selection in three straight seasons, as Davis joins teammates Regan Williams (2025) and Nichols (2024) in earning the nod. Davis is now the seventh Kansas player to earn a spot on the team, joining Williams, Nichols, Ioanna Chatzileonti (2021), Zakiyah Franklin (2020), Lauren Aldridge (2015) and Carolyn Davis (2010).
Nichols (Overland Park, Kan.) is now a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection following another stellar season leading the Jayhawks. She ranks fourth in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game, while ranking ninth in assists with 4.8 per game. A two-time Big 12 Starting Five selection, Nichols scored in double figures 27 times in 30 regular season games, with 12 games of 12+ points. Nichols scored a career-high 40 points against Georgia on Nov. 28 at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, becoming the first Jayhawk with a 40-point game since 1984, and she set a new career high with 15 made free throws against Texas Tech on Feb. 25, a mark that ranks fifth in school history for a single game.
Nichols leads the nation in both free throws made (204) and attempted (242) this season, and her 84.3 percent accuracy from the line ranks fifth in the Big 12. She became KU’s all-time leader in free throws made midway through her junior season, and she’s up to sixth in Big 12 history with 588 career free throws made. Nichols has risen to 12th on KU’s all-time scoring list with 1,599 career points, and she’s second in school history with 37 games scoring 20+ points. She’s also eighth in school history with 373 career assists.
With her selection, Nichols is now just the second Jayhawk to become a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, joining Lynn Pride, who was named to the team in 1998, 1999 and 2000.