Eva Hudson named SEC Player of the Year as Kentucky VB picks up several postseason awards

Kentucky volleyball players Kassie O'Brien (left) and Eva Hudson - Avery Deweese, UK Athletics

After winning a ninth straight Southeastern Conference championship, Kentucky volleyball scooped up more than its fair share of postseason awards.

The second-ranked Wildcats received four major awards, which were announced on Wednesday, headlined by Eva Hudson being named SEC Player of the Year. The Purdue transfer becomes the seventh different Kentucky player to win the award and the sixth since 2018. She was also tabbed the conference’s Newcomer of the Year.

But Hudson was hardly the only Wildcat recognized. Setter Kassie O’Brien was named the SEC Freshman of the Year, while head coach Craig Skinner received his seventh SEC Coach of the Year honors. On top of that, Brooklyn DeLeye (who was last season’s SEC Player of the Year) was listed as an All-SEC First Team member, as were Hudson and O’Brien. Libero Molly Tuozzo was also named to the All-SEC Second Team for UK.

None of this comes as any surprise to the Big Blue Nation. Kentucky finished the regular season with a 22-2 record, including a perfect 15-0 mark against SEC competition. The Wildcats, riding a 19-match win streak, enter the SEC Tournament this weekend as the top overall seed. Skinner has another national title contender in Lexington.

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🏆THE. 2025. SEC. PLAYER. OF. THE. YEAR.🏆

HUDDY!!!!!!👏👏👏#WeAreUK x #BBN x @SEC pic.twitter.com/ngFwCi7Fyb
— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) November 19, 2025

For some additional information on Kentucky’s postseason award winners, O’Brien is now the seventh Wildcat to win SEC Freshman of the Year. The previous six all went on to win SEC Player of the Year while wearing the blue and white — promising news for O’Brien’s future. Tuzzo’s All-SEC honor was her second straight, while Skinner’s Coach of the Year accolade was his third in a row. UK’s 15-0 finish in the SEC was the program’s second undefeated conference run under Skinner, the first coming in 2018.

Looking ahead, Kentucky is set to play in the SEC Tournament (which is being brought back for the first time since 2005) quarterfinals this weekend in Savannah, GA. UK won’t know its opponent until Saturday afternoon, though. The ‘Cats will take on the winner of (9) Oklahoma/(16) Arkansas vs. (8) Auburn on Sunday at noon ET on the SEC Network.