On Thursday, April 4, Jewell Loyd was named the National Freshman of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Loyd, who graduated last year, was also named Big East Freshman of the Year earlier in the year.

“Along with being delighted for Jewell, I think that we have an excellent athletic program, with terrific coaches. Jewell, George Kontos, and Rashard Mendenhall have represented Niles West in the Final Four, the World Series, and the Super Bowl in the last four years. The record of alumni achievement is very impressive for one school,” English teacher Michael Conroy said.

Loyd was the first person to score 3,000 points during her high school career in the state of Illinois and now averages 12.5 points per game playing with the Fighting Irish.

Many students at Niles West are very proud of Loyd for her achievement.

“I think that it’s cool how Jewell was selected into the McDonald’s All-American Team while at West. You can compare her success in basketball at West to that of Derrick Rose, who was also selected to play in the All-American Games in high school. It’s wonderful that she plays for Notre Dame now, and knowing that she won the Freshman of the Year award kind of amplifies her success as a talented basketball player. I hope she gets to play in the WNBA one day in the future,” senior Jenny Hau said.

Basketball coach Tony Konsewicz could not be reached for comment.