Stock photo via Pexels

NCAA.com this week published a retrospective tracing every Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament since 1996.

The honor has gone to outside hitters, middle blockers, setters, an opposite and even a libero across 30 championship matches.

Kerri Walsh opened the list in 1996. Kyndal Stowers is the most recent honoree, taking the award in 2025.

A Handful Of Players Have Won It Twice

Lauren Cacciamani won in both 1998 and 1999, the first sharing the 1998 honor with Misty May. Keao Burdine took back-to-back awards in 2002 and 2003, and Megan Hodge did the same in 2007 and 2008.

Mikaela Foecke won outright in 2015 and then shared the award again in 2017. Kathryn Plummer is the most recent repeat winner, claiming the honor in 2018 and again in 2019.

Co-Winners Have Split The Award Three Times

Misty May and Cacciamani split it in 1998, and outside hitters Foecke and Kelly Hunter shared it in 2017.

In 2018, Kathryn Plummer shared the award with libero Morgan Hentz, a rare instance of the honor going to a defensive specialist rather than an attacker.

The libero position is typically overlooked for postseason hardware given its limited offensive role, which made Hentz's selection unusual.

The Award's Recent Run

The 2010s and 2020s produced a steady mix of first-time winners.

Destinee Hooker (2009), Deja McClendon (2010), Rachael Kidder (2011), Bailey Webster (2012), Micha Hancock (2013) and Megan Courtney (2014) each won once during that stretch, followed by Inky Ajanaku in 2016.

More recently, Madison Lilley won in 2020, Anna Smrek in 2021, Logan Eggleston in 2022, Madisen Skinner in 2023 and Jess Mruzik in 2024, before Stowers closed out the list in 2025.

Earlier Honorees Rounded Out The Field

Greichaly Cepero won in 2000, Logan Tom in 2001, Ogonna Nnamani in 2004, Christal Morrison in 2005 and Sarah Pavan in 2006.

Together, the 30 selections span every era of the modern NCAA women's volleyball tournament, according to NCAA.com's rundown, from the award's 1996 debut through last season's championship match.