Stewart, Breanna (1994-…), is an outstanding American women’s basketball player. Stewart, a forward, stands 6 feet 4 inches (193 centimeters) tall. She has the athletic ability to shoot from long range, drive to the basket, rebound, and block shots. For a discussion of basketball positions, see Basketball (How to play basketball).
Breanna Mackenzie Stewart was born on Aug. 27, 1994, in Syracuse, New York. She was a star player at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. When she was 14, Stewart was the youngest player on the USA Basketball U16 team. She also played for USA Basketball’s women’s gold medal-winning U17, U18, and U19 teams. In 2011, she was named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. She was also named to the 2012 high school All-American team.
Stewart helped lead the University of Connecticut to a record four women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball championships from 2013 to 2016. She was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player all four years. Stewart was named the national player of the year for her final three years at Connecticut. During her college career, Stewart averaged 17.6 points per game.
In 2016, Stewart received the James E. Sullivan Award as the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. The Seattle Storm of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) made her the first player selected in the 2016 WNBA draft. Stewart became the WNBA Rookie of the Year for the 2016 season. She was named the WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the 2018 season, when her team won a championship. Stewart missed the 2019 WNBA season while recovering from injury. In 2020, Stewart led the Storm to another title and was named MVP of the WNBA Finals. In 2022, she led the WNBA in scoring, with an average of 21.8 points per game. In 2023, Stewart signed a contract to play for the WNBA’s New York Liberty. She averaged 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists for the 2023 season and won her second WNBA MVP award.
Stewart also played in professional leagues in China and Russia, winning numerous league titles and individual awards. She was a member of United States national teams that won gold medals in international tournaments, including the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
