Veinot Named U SPORTS MVP
(EDMONTON, AB) Jayda Veinot, of the UNB REDS’ women’s basketball team, is the winner of the Nan Copp Trophy as U SPORTS women’s basketball player of the year for 2023-2024.
Veinot was presented with an awards event on Wednesday night, part of the 2024 U SPORTS women’s basketball championship tournament, in Edmonton.
She was also named a 1st Team All-Canadian.
"Being the Copp Award recipient is a huge honour," said Veinot. "It means a lot to have been selected from such a strong group of nominees, so I'm very proud. I know it wouldn't be possible with out the team success we had this season, so it speaks to our entire group. The girls, our coaches, and the entire support staff."
“I thought Jayda took her game to another level this year to cap off an illustrious career,” said REDS’ head coach Erin McAleenan. “She was asked to do a lot for our team and her role continued to evolve when we faced a handful of season-ending injuries.”
The fifth-year wing, from Port Williams, NS, is the first UNB player to win the award.
Atlantic University Sport’s most valuable player, Veinot finished third in U SPORTS in scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game. She also averaged 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting an incredible 91.3 percent from the free throw line.
“While opponents would consistently throw two or more defenders at her, Jayda managed to create for herself and her teammates, game in and game out,” said McAleenan. “She never made excuses and always found a way to get the job done to help our team achieve our goals.”
Her play helped the REDS to a 15-5 record and second place in the AUS standings.
Veinot led UNB to their first appearance in the AUS championship game in 13 years.
The 2023-2024 season saw Veinot reach a number of career milestones including surpassing the 1500 career points plateau.
Veinot finished her U SPORTS career with 1695 points (regular season), good for seventh on the AUS all-time list. The first 919 points of her career were scored as a member of the Acadia Axewomen, where she played three seasons before transferring to UNB for post-graduate studies.
McAleenan says the award is testament to the impact Veinot has had on the UNB program.
“Jayda led our group in all aspects, having such a great influence on her teammates and helped showcase to the rest of the country how great our program is. These are the things that can’t be measured, but will be felt long after Jayda graduates from UNB. The legacy that Jayda has built over her U SPORTS career has impacted so many people and will be etched in the history books forever.”
Veinot was previously a nominee for Copp Trophy in 2022, as a member of the Axewomen, and is just the fourth AUS player to be named the country’s most outstanding player.
"I would have loved to be here competing with our team, but this is certainly a positive note to finish my U SPORTS career on," said Veinot.
Veinot was named winner over three other nominees. Léa-Sophie Verret (Laval – RSEQ), Madalyn Weinert (Brock – OUA), and Jade Belmore (Regina - Canada West).
UNB’s Katie Butts was among the nominees for the Sylvia Sweeney Award for Student-Athlete Community Service, after being named winner of the AUS’ student-athlete community service award. Nikki Cabuco of the UFV Cascades was named winner of the national award.
STORY BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics with files from U SPORTS
PHOTOS BY: Univ. of Alberta Athletics