Sara Hamson named to Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today BYU center Sara Hamson as one of the 20 watch list candidates for the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award.

Named after the three-time All-American,1994 National Player of the Year and Class of 2015 Hall of Famer, the annual award in its fifth year recognizes the top centers in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.

VOTE FOR SARA HAMSON

Hamson led the WCC in blocks during the 2020-21 season with 2.5 blocks per game, finishing 22nd nationally. The 6-foot-7 product of Pleasant Grove High School tallied at least three blocks in 10 games and finished 16th in the country with 62 total blocks. She averaged 5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. 

“Lisa Leslie is one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, men or women, at the collegiate, international and professional levels, said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “The student-athletes that have been named to the watchlist for this award are unquestionably among the best our game has to offer, and we’re excited to watch them take the court and do what they do best this season. Most talented in the game today and we are very excited to watch them take the court this season. We thank Lisa for her involvement in this selection process, as well as our esteemed committee members and Dell Technologies who makes our fan voting component possible.”

College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Ms. Leslie and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The winner of the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award and the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.

Previous winners of the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award include Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (2020-21), Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019) and A’ja Wilson, South Carolina (2018).

For more information on the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #LeslieAward on Twitter and Instagram.