Cotie McMahon Headlines SEC Honors with Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-SEC Selection

OXFORD, Miss. — Cotie McMahon didn’t just arrive in Oxford — she transformed it. In her first season with the Rebels, the senior forward delivered one of the most prolific scoring campaigns in recent program history, a performance that earned her SEC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-SEC honors Tuesday.

The Ole Miss senior was named the 2026 SEC Newcomer of the Year and earned First Team All-SEC honors, the league announced Tuesday, cementing one of the most productive individual seasons in recent Rebel history.

For McMahon, the recognition continues a pattern of excellence. The veteran forward has now landed on a conference first team three consecutive seasons, previously earning back-to-back All-Big Ten First Team selections before transferring to Ole Miss. She also captured Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2023, marking this as the second time in her career she has claimed a conference superlative award.

In her lone season with the Rebels, McMahon immediately elevated the program’s offensive ceiling.

She finished second in the SEC in conference scoring, averaging 21.0 points per game against league opponents while contributing 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. Across the full season, she posted 19.9 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting, adding 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per outing.

Her production translated into milestones.

McMahon recorded 17 games of 20 or more points — tied for the third-most in a single season in program history and the highest total by a Rebel since 2009-10. She reached double figures in 29 games, another mark not achieved at Ole Miss in more than a decade. In the regular-season finale, she surpassed 600 points on the year, becoming just the seventh player in school history to reach that plateau and the first since the 2009-10 campaign.

The honors also place her in rare company within the program.

McMahon becomes the first Rebel ever to be named SEC Newcomer of the Year — an award introduced only last season — and the first Ole Miss player to earn First Team All-SEC recognition since Madison Scott and Marquesha Davis in 2024.

Her performance did not go unnoticed nationally, either. McMahon earned a spot on 15 award watch lists this season and was named a finalist for several of the sport’s top individual honors, including the Naismith Trophy, the Wooden Award, and the Cheryl Miller Award.

The SEC postseason awards were voted on by the league’s 16 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The complete awards are as follows:

Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Karly Weathers, Alabama

Player of the Year – Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

Freshman of the Year – Aubrey Galvan, Vanderbilt

Newcomer of the Year – Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss

Defensive Player of the Year – Raven Johnson, South Carolina

Sixth-Woman of the Year – MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU

Coach of the Year – Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt

First Team

Liv McGill, Florida

Dani Carnegie, Georgia

Clara Strack, Kentucky

Flau’jae Johnson, LSU

Mikaylah Williams, LSU

Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss

Raegan Beers, Oklahoma

Joyce Edwards, South Carolina

Madison Booker, Texas

Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

Second Team

Jessica Timmons, Alabama

Tonie Morgan, Kentucky

Grace Slaughter, Missouri

Raven Johnson, South Carolina

Tessa Johnson, South Carolina

Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina

Madina Okot, South Carolina

Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma

Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee

Rori Harmon, Texas

Ny’Ceara Pryor, Texas A&M

All-Defensive

Clara Strack, Kentucky

Madison Francis, Mississippi State

Raven Johnson, South Carolina

Rori Harmon, Texas

Ny’Ceara Pryor, Texas A&M

All-Freshman

ZaKiyah Johnson, LSU

Madison Francis, Mississippi State

Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma

Mia Pauldo, Tennessee

Aubrey Galvan, Vanderbilt

With postseason play ahead, Cotie McMahon’s first season in Oxford has already secured a place among the program’s most memorable individual campaigns — one defined by scoring consistency, big-game performances, and a historic set of accolades.