MANHATTAN – After an outstanding freshman season, sophomore center Ayoka Lee is beginning to attract national attention as she has been named as one of 20 candidates to the 2021 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List on Friday.
The annual award is in its fourth year of recognizing the top centers in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
Presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the Lisa Leslie Award is named after the three-time All-American, 1994 National Player of the Year and Class of 2015 Hall of Famer.
Lee, a 2021 All-America candidate, enters her sophomore season as the number two returning rebounder and shot blocker in the Big 12. She needs just nine blocked shots to become the eighth player in program history to reach 100 career blocks. In October, Lee was a unanimous selection to the 2020-21 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
As the 2020 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a 2020 All-Big 12 First Team selection, Lee ranked ninth among freshmen in the nation and led all Big 12 freshmen in scoring with 15.7 points per game in 2019-20. She ranked second in the nation among freshmen and led the league’s freshmen in rebounding at 11.4 per game. She also led all freshmen in the nation in blocks at 3.1 per game.
Lee, who was named the number two freshman in the nation during the 2019-20 season according to ESPN.com, ranked among the top-12 in the Big 12 in nine statistical categories and was tied for the league lead in double-doubles with 19. She was second in the league for all classes and fourth in the nation among freshmen in field goal percentage at .568
Lee was the first freshman in program history to complete a conference season with a double-double as she averaged 15.8 points and 11.7 rebounds.
She was the first freshman in program history with the combination of 400 or more points, 300 or more rebounds and 90 or more blocks. Lee established 13 Big 12 or K-State single-season school records including: rebounds by a freshman (331), blocks by a freshman (91) and double-doubles for all-classes (19).
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In early February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2021 Lisa Leslie Award will be narrowed to just 10. In early March, five finalists will be presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
The winner of the 2021 Lisa Leslie Center Award will be presented on April 9, 2021, 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.
Among the 20 players selected as watch list candidates, Lee is one of five players from the Big 12 Conference on the watch list: Queen Egbo and Hannah Gusters of Baylor, Kristin Scott of Iowa State and Charli Collier of Texas.
Other candidates for the award are: Sara Hamson of BYU, Olivia Nelson-Ododa of Connecticut, Jade Williams of Duke, Ameshya Williams of Jackson State, Shakira Austin of Ole Miss, Elissa Cunane of NC State, Kate Cain of Nebraska, Janelle Bailey of North Carolina, Eleah Parker of Penn, Nancy Mulkey of Rice, Kamilla Cardoso of Syracuse, Antoinette Lewis of South Alabama, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, Ila Lane of UC Santa Barbara and Elizabeth Kitley of Virginia Tech.
K-State was selected for a fourth-place finish in the 2020-21 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Wildcats will be led into the season by unanimous Preseason All-Big 12 selection and 2021 All-America candidate Ayoka Lee and Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection Rachel Ranke.
Kansas State returns nine letter winners for the 2020-21 season. K-State also welcomes in graduate transfer Sydney Goodson, junior Makayla Pippin, redshirt freshman Jada Thorpe from injury and freshmen Taylor Lauterbach and Jada Moore.
The Wildcats will open its 2020-21 season with an exhibition game on Wednesday, November 25, at Fort Hays State. K-State will then begin a seven-game home stand in non-conference action on Nov. 29, against Southern at 1 p.m.
--kstatesports.com--