A yaw assembly for a wind turbine may include a bushing configured for securement within a yaw cylinder containing a yaw piston and a yaw pad having a first side configured for engagement with a slew ring of the wind turbine and a second side configured for engagement with the yaw piston, a thrust stem engaged with the bushing and configured to apply force to the yaw pad against the slew ring, the thrust stem biased away from the yaw pad by one or more springs residing within the yaw piston, and an anti-rotation collar disposed at an interface between the thrust stem and the yaw piston, the anti-rotation collar including a flange extending from a bottom-center portion thereof, the flange disposed between the one or more springs and a bottom end of the yaw piston.