Hillmon, Hutchinson Named Michigan Athletes of the Year
6/15/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football, General, Women's Basketball
• Michigan Athletes of the Year
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Athletics Department announced Wednesday (June 15) that Naz Hillmon (women's basketball) and Aidan Hutchinson (football) have been named the 2021-22 U-M Athletes of the Year.
Hillmon repeats as the women's winner, becoming the seventh women's athlete in U-M history to earn the honor twice in a career. She is one of two women's basketball players (Katelynn Flaherty) to win the award. Hutchinson is the 13th football player to earn the honor and third in the last six years.
Both student-athletes are eligible to be named Big Ten Conference Athletes of the Year, the winners of which are determined by a media vote. The University of Michigan Athlete of the Year Award was first presented in 1982.
The following are biographical sketches on Hillmon and Hutchinson.
Naz Hillmon (Women's Basketball)
In her final season with the Maize and Blue, Hillmon helped the Wolverines to perhaps their best season in program history, guiding Michigan to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. The Wolverines tied a program record with 13 Big Ten wins, won three games in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever and peaked at No. 4 in the Associated Press poll to set another record. Michigan knocked off a program-best eight ranked teams over the course of the season, finishing the year ranked No. 7 in the USA Today/Coaches poll and No. 12 in the AP poll.
Hillmon averaged 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game over the course of her senior season. She shot 57.3 percent from the field and scored in double figures in all but one game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in scoring. She tallied a Big Ten Conference-high 18 double-doubles throughout the season, including one in all four of Michigan's NCAA Tournament games.
Hillmon leaves Michigan as the program leader in rebounds (1,063), double-doubles (52) and free throws made (487) and is the only player to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. She is second all-time in scoring with 2,183 points, playing 21 fewer games than all-time leading scorer Katelynn Flaherty (2,776).
Hillmon was named a first team All-American this season by the WBCA, Associated Press, USBWA, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated and the Wooden Award. She was a first team All-Big Ten selection for the fourth straight season, becoming the first player in program history with four first-team honors, and was named to the all-defensive team.
She was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and graduated this past April with a degree in communication and media.
Hillmon was selected 15th in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream, becoming the highest draft pick in Michigan women's basketball history. She has appeared in 11 games this season for the Dream, averaging 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game.
Aidan Hutchinson (Football)
A two-time captain (2020-21), Hutchinson leaves Ann Arbor as one of the most decorated players in school history. He helped create a culture and atmosphere that allowed Michigan to capture the Big Ten Championship in 2021 and become the first team in program history to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, receiving a bid to the Orange Bowl against eventual national champion Georgia. The Wolverines finished the year ranked third in both national polls.
On the field, Hutchinson led the defensive line with 62 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, a single-season program record 14.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three pass breakups during the 2021 season. He was the Big Ten leader and was third nationally in sacks per game (1.0 avg.). In the biggest game of the season, Hutchinson dominated Ohio State to the tune of three sacks and a record 15 quarterback pressures, helping U-M win the Big Ten East.
Hutchinson was runner-up for the 2021 Heisman Memorial Trophy, becoming just the fourth defensive player in the 87-year history of the award to finish first or second in the final voting. A 2021 consensus first team All-American, Hutchinson won the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi Award, Ted Hendricks Award and was the co-recipient of the 2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year. He earned All-Big Ten first-team honors and was named as both the the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year. Hutchinson was voted as the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player of the 2021 team.
Academically, he graduated with a degree in applied exercise science. Hutchinson was a 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American first team and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors three times (2019-21). He was selected as a 2021 National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete and was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy presented to the top student-athlete in college football.
He was the second overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, becoming the highest-drafted defender in U-M history.
