Coach Steve Donahue highlights multiple All-Ivy recognitions for Penn basketball

Just days ahead of the biggest weekend of the season for both Penn men’s and women’s basketball, individuals on both teams got some good news.

On Tuesday, the Ivy League announced that Penn men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue was the Ivy League Coach of the Year. Three of his players — sophomore forward AJ Brodeur, sophomore guard Ryan Betley, and senior guard Darnell Foreman — were also honored with All-Ivy selections.

And just a day after the men’s awards were announced, the Ivy League announced its selections for women’s basketball. Three Penn players were recognized, including freshman center Eleah Parker, who was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

For Donahue, who is in his third year as Penn’s head coach, the recognition comes after leading the Quakers to their best regular season in over ten years. After finishing with losing Ivy records in his first two seasons, the Red and Blue lost only two games in the Ancient Eight this year on their way to a shared regular-season championship and No. 2 seed in the Ivy Tournament.

Leading the way on the court for Penn was its three All-Ivy honorees. Brodeur, who was a unanimous first-team All Ivy selection, averaged nearly 15 points and eight rebounds per game in Ivy play. He is the first Penn men’s basketball player to be named first-team since Zack Rosen was in 2012.

Betley, who led the Quakers in scoring on the season with 14.7 points per game, was named to the second-team. Foreman, who led the team in assists and is one of the team’s three captains, was named honorable mention. 

On the women’s side, Parker was named second-team All Ivy in addition to being recognized as the best freshman after leading the league in both scoring and rebounding. 

On the women's side, joining Parker on the second-team was senior and captain point guard Anna Ross, who finishes her career as one of the best passers in school history. This year, she led the Quakers in assists with five per game as she became Penn’s all-time leader in assists 476 and counting .

Penn’s final honoree was senior and captain forward Michelle Nwokedi, who was named to the first-team for the third time in her career. This season, she became the first player in Ivy history to record 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 300 blocks in her career.

All of Penn’s honorees will be in action on Saturday at the Palestra as both the men's and women's teams compete as No. 2 seeds in the second-ever Ivy Tournament.