Big Ten Announces 2025 Women’s Lacrosse Individual Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced its 2025 women’s lacrosse individual awards on Tuesday, following a vote of the league’s head coaches.

Big Ten Tournament finalists Maryland and Northwestern earned two awards each, as the Terps’ Kori Edmondson and Kayla Gilmore were named Midfielder and Freshman of the Year, respectively, while Madison Taylor and Kelly Amonte Hiller claimed Attacker and Coach of the Year honors.

Johns Hopkins’ Reagan O’Brien was named Defender of the Year, while Michigan’s Erin O’Grady earned her second consecutive Goaltender of the Year award.

Taylor earned the third consecutive Attacker of the Year honor for Northwestern and the program’s fifth in the last six seasons. Taylor leads the nation with 125 points, while her 89 goals are good for second in the country. The junior tallied 16 hat tricks in 18 games and posted at least five points on 16 occasions, including an 11-point outing against Oregon.  

Edmondson is the fifth Maryland student-athlete named Midfielder of the Year and earns the program’s sixth award in 10 years. The junior from Severna, Md. has recorded at least three goals in 13 of 19 games and leads the Terps with 65 points, 56 goals, and 34 ground balls, while her 68 draw controls and 17 caused turnovers are second on the team.

O’Brien is the first Blue Jay to garner Defender of the Year accolades. The junior from Charlestown, Mass. set an NCAA single season record with 85 caused turnovers, while leading the Big Ten with 52 ground balls. O’Brien caused at least three turnovers in 14 of 18 games, setting a new program record with 10 caused turnovers in the Blue Jays Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win over Penn State.

O’Grady becomes the third repeat winner of the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year award, joining Maryland’s Megan Taylor (2016-19) and Emily Sterling (2022-23). The senior’s .540 save percentage ranks second in the country, while her 9.00 goals against average is good for seventh. O’Grady notched double-digit saves in 11 of 15 games, anchoring the nation’s number two-ranked scoring defense.

Gilmore is the third Maryland student-athlete to earn Freshman of the Year honors and its first since Grace Griffin earned the award in 2018. The Mastic, N.Y. native has made an immediate impact for Maryland, starting all 18 of her appearances this season, while posting 23 points on 14 goals and nine assists. The freshman has also collected a team-high 73 draw controls, good for eighth in the Big Ten.

This is the fifth time Amonte Hiller has been named Coach of the Year, also claiming the honor in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024. Northwestern won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in the last five years. The Wildcats have been ranked in the top three on every IWLCA Coaches Poll this season and will enter the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a 16-2 record and an eight-game win streak.

The complete list of 2025 Big Ten women’s Lacrosse individual award winners is below.

Attacker of the Year: MADISON TAYLOR, Jr. Northwestern
Midfielder of the Year: Kori Edmondson, Jr., Maryland
Defender of the Year: Reagan O’Brien, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Goaltender of the Year: Erin O’Grady, Sr., Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Kayla Gilmore, M, Maryland
Coach of the Year: Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern

ALL CAPS indicates unanimous selections