Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee Added to Wade Trophy Watch List
Kansas State center Ayoka Lee was one of seven players added to the 2022 Wade Trophy Watch List, given to the nation’s best overall women’s player.
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced the additions on Wednesday. Joining the preseason list of 30 Wade Trophy hopefuls are Lee, Lorela Cubaj of Georgia Tech, Destanni Henderson of South Carolina, Mackenzie Holmes of Indiana, Khayla Pointer of LSU, Angel Reese of Maryland, and Jacy Sheldon of Ohio State.
Iowa State’s Ashley Joens and Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith were already on the preseason Wade Award list. Smith won the Wade Trophy last season.
All three are also on the Naismith Award Watch List, which is also given to the nation’s best overall player.
Lee leads the Big 12 and ranks third in the nation in scoring average with 24.7 points and is second in the nation in total points with 569. She also leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.582), blocks (3.2), 30-point games (8) and 20-point games (13). Lee scored a NCAA Division I record 61 points in a win over Oklahoma earlier this season.
Joens and the No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones are off until Saturday, but she is third in the Big 12 in points per game at 19.4 and has scored 20 or more points in nine games this season. She is 44 away from becoming ISU’s all-time leading scorer. She also averages 9.1 rebounds per game and is 40 rebounds away from becoming the fourth player in Iowa State history to reach 1,000 career rebounds.
Smith leads the Big 12 and is fifth in the country with 15 double-doubles. She averages a double-double — 20.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. She’s just one of three players nationally to average 20 points, 10 rebounds and one assist per game. Smith is 10th all-time at Baylor with 1,734 career points and needs 55 rebounds to reach 1,000 for her career.
The WBCA will announce the four finalists for the honor in mid-March. The winner of the 2022 Wade Trophy will be announced in late March or early April.
2022 Wade Trohpy Watch List
(Big 12 Players in Bold)
Shakira Austin, Mississippi
Kierstan Bell, Florida Gulf Coast
Grace Berger, Indiana
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Leigha Brown, Michigan
Paige Bueckers, Connecticut
Rae Burrell, Tennessee
Veronica Burton, Northwestern
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Nia Clouden, Michigan State
Zia Cooke, South Carolina
Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech
Elissa Cunane, NC State
Monika Czinano, Iowa
Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Haley Jones, Stanford
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
Diamond Miller, Maryland
Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Connecticut
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Ashley Owusu, Maryland
Ali Patberg, Indiana
Khayla Pointer, LSU
Angel Reese, Maryland
Nyara Sabally, Oregon
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
Hailey Van Lith, Louisville
Christyn Williams, Connecticut
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
