SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Texas Tech women’s basketball senior Brittany Brewer was one of 20 collegiate players named to the Lisa Leslie Award watch list on Friday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Named after the three-time All-American and 1994 National Player of the Year, the annual award in its third year recognizes the top centers in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
As a senior this season, Brewer looks to build on a breakout junior campaign in which she averaged 16.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Brewer earned honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition in 2018-19, and was selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team earlier this month.
The Abilene, Texas, native scored 20 or more points in 10 games and racked up 13 double doubles as a junior, ranking in the Top 25 nationally and leading the Big 12. Brewer posted a career-best 71 blocks on the season to lead the Big 12. Her 71 blocks also rank fifth in school history for blocks in a season while her 162 career blocks rank fifth in school history.
Brewer became the second Lady Raider in school history to be selected to compete for USA Basketball at the Pan American Games last summer. She also became the first Texas Tech women’s basketball player to earn a medal at the event, helping lead the U.S. to a silver medal.
The Selection Committee for the Lisa Leslie Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2019 Lisa Leslie Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Leslie and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
The winner of the 2020 Lisa Leslie Center Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, 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 Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019) and A’ja Wilson, South Carolina (2018).
For more information on the 2020 Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #LeslieAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live today, Oct. 25.
2020 LISA LESLIE AWARD CANDIDATES*
Bayley Plummer Appalachian State
Queen Egbo Baylor
Olivia Nelson-Ododa Connecticut
Jade Williams Duke
Kristin Scott Iowa State
Kayla Cooper-Williams James Madison
Shakira Austin Maryland
Beatrice Mompremier Miami
Elissa Cunane NC State
Kate Cain Nebraska
Janelle Bailey North Carolina
Eleah Parker Penn
Ae’Rianna Harris Purdue
Nancy Mulkey Rice
Aliyah Boston South Carolina
Maya Dodson Stanford
Charli Collier Texas
Ciera Johnson Texas A&M
Brittany Brewer Texas Tech
Mariella Fasoula Vanderbilt
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season