Super League Basketball is delighted to announce the winner of the Molten Young Player of the Year award for the 2025/26 season, following a voting process involving the League’s Head Coaches and Captains.

Manchester Basketball’s 17-year-old floor general Irene Oboavwoduo secured this year’s award, receiving every possible first-place vote from her peers, after an outstanding debut season in SLB that saw her break long-standing records and make her national team debut for Great Britain.

The Gorton native scored in double figures in 10 of her 18 Championship outings, including a career-high 27 against Leicester in March which is the second-most points scored by a teenager in SLB since Valerie Cassidy De Falco scored 28 for Nottingham in the 2023/24 season, when she herself won this very same award.

Oboavwoduo’s stellar campaign sets the stage nicely for a step into the NCAA next season, where the GB international will compete for the University of Tennessee alongside fellow SLB and national team junior talent Fatmata Janneh in the SEC, one of the most competitive conferences in Women’s College Basketball.

Reflecting on her success, Oboavwoduo said:

“I am honoured to be named Molten Young Player of the Year for the 2025/26 season. I appreciate my family, teammates, coaches, and the entire Manchester Basketball organisation for their trust and support throughout the season.

“To achieve this in my first year in Super League Basketball reflects the work I put in every day and the standards we maintained as a group.

“This season has helped me develop my game and better understand what it takes to perform consistently at the professional level. I’m looking forward to building on it in the next steps of my journey.”

Manchester Basketball Head Coach Oli Parr added:

“This is a truly deserved award for Irene. She has stepped up this year and taken advantage of her opportunity. Irene is a great talent and certainly has a bright future ahead.”

Further end-of-season award winners will be announced in the coming days and don’t forget you can watch all the action from Sunday’s season-ending Play-off Final at The O2, London, and stay up to date via our social media channels by clicking here.