The Michigan Athletics Department announced on Wednesday afternoon that Michigan women’s basketball star, Naz Hillmon, and Michigan football star, Aidan Hutchinson, were selected as the Michigan Athletes of the Year.
The Michigan Athletics Twitter account tweeted out a video sharing the news while compiling some highlights of both Hillmon and Hutchinson. You can see the video below.
Drivers of Team Success.
Michigan Record-Setters.
The Leaders and Best.Congratulations, Naz and Aidan, on being named the U-M Athletes of the Year for 2021-22!
» https://t.co/a2hZD3nTwf | #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/ADNCm19Mcy
— Michigan Athletics 〽️ (@UMichAthletics) June 15, 2022
Hillmon left Michigan as arguably the most decorated women’s basketball player to ever play for the maize and blue. She is the program leader in rebounds (1,063), double-doubles (52), and free throws made (487.) Hillmon is the only women’s player to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career with the Wolverines. The Michigan phenom ended her Wolverines’ career as the second all-time scorer with 2,183 points — behind Katelyn Flahtery who scored 2,776 points.
During Hillmon’s senior season she averaged 21.0 points-per-game and 9.6 rebounds-per-game — while scoring in double figures in all but one game. She left Ann Arbor as an All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten for the fourth straight year. Hillmon was selected by the Atlanta Dream with the 15th pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and she is now the highest-drafted Michigan women’s basketball player ever.
On the men’s side of things, Aidan Hutchinson left Michigan as a fan favorite and one of the greatest to play defensive end. During his senior season, he compiled 62 tackles, 16.5 tackles-for-loss, and set the single-season program record with 14 sacks in 2021. In his final game against Ohio State, he helped Michigan punish the Buckeyes’ offensive line by recording three sacks against CJ Stroud.
At the season end, Hutchinson finshed second in Heisman voting, first-team All-American, he 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. Hutchinson was also first-team All-Big Ten and he won the Big Ten Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, and the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Hutchinson was selected second overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.
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