LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas sophomore forward Jaliya Davis has been recognized as one of 20 players on the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Preseason Watch List.
The prestigious award is one of the Naismith Starting 5 awards offered, going to the best power forward in women's college basketball and presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to highlight the elite talent in the sport. The awards watch list will remain fluid as the season progresses, giving players the opportunity to move on and off the list until the final five are selected. The list will narrow down to 10 players in late January, with the final five being announced in March. The award winner and presentation details will be revealed at the Final Four in Columbus, Ohio.
Davis, a unanimous selection as the 2026 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is the second Jayhawk named to a preseason watch list after S’Mya Nichols was listed for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award on Monday. This is the first career watch list honor for Davis.
A WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection, Davis averaged 19.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She scored 20 or more points 15 times, which ranks sixth in school history for a single season and is third-most in Big 12 history by a freshman. During Big 12 play, Davis ranked second in the league in scoring with 21.5 points per game, while leading the league by shooting 63.6 percent (136-of-214) from the field.
Last season, Davis won the Big 12 Freshman of the Week award in each of the last nine weeks of the regular season, setting a new Big 12 and Power Conference record for consecutive weekly honors. She was also named the USBWA Co-National Freshman of the Week on Feb. 10.
Davis is one of three players from the Big 12 Conference on the McClain Award watch list, joined by Lara Somfai (TCU) and Skylar Forbes (West Virginia). The 2026 winner, Sarah Strong of UConn, is also among the preseason candidates. Previous winners of the Katrina McClain Award are Aneesah Morrow, LSU (2025), Kiki Iriafen, Stanford (2024), Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (2023), NaLyssa Smith, Baylor (2021-22), Ruthy Hebard, Oregon (2018, ‘20), and Napheesa Collier, Connecticut (2019).
The power forward of the year award is named for Katrina McClain, who was a prolific rebounder and terrific scorer in a career that spanned three Olympic Games, three continents, and countless driveways, backyards, and arenas all over the world. Before she earned her stripes for USA Basketball, McClain starred at the University of Georgia where she was a two-time Kodak All-America and the WBCA National Player of the Year her senior season. She left Georgia as the school's second all-time leading scorer and rebounder, averaging a double-double her final two seasons in Athens. The Lady Bulldogs reached the 1985 NCAA Final Four and national championship game with McClain controlling the paint and Teresa Edwards running the offense.
McClain, a two-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, finished her international career with two Olympic gold medals and one bronze, three FIBA World Championships medals, and five medals at the Goodwill Games, Pan Am Games, and World University Games. In all Katrina McClain appeared on eleven USA Basketball rosters becoming one of the most decorated athletes in USA Basketball history.