SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Lauren Betts, who won the 2025 Lisa Leslie Center of the Year award, leads the list of candidates for the 2026 honor, according to an announcement from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on Friday.
Betts, a center for UCLA, is averaging 16.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season. She has a field goal percentage of .577 and has improved her free throw shooting to .667, making 48 out of 72 attempts. On defense, she averages 2.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.
She also contributes with 64 assists so far this year—an average of 2.9 per game—which ranks fourth among her teammates in UCLA’s offense. Betts was named national defensive player of the year in 2025 and continues to improve during conference play with averages rising to 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game along with higher block and steal numbers as UCLA remains undefeated in conference games.
The mid-season top ten for the Lisa Leslie Award includes Ava Heiden (Iowa), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Clara Strack (Kentucky), Ra Shaya Kyle (Miami), Tilda Trygger (NC State), Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), Madina Okot (South Carolina), Brooklyn Meyer (South Dakota State), Lauren Betts (UCLA), and Serah Williams (UConn).
Fans can vote online at hoophallawards.com starting February 6; their votes will count as one committee vote when selecting finalists.
In March, the list will be reduced from ten to five candidates before being presented to selection committees that include basketball media members, coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lisa Leslie.
Winners for both the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and Lisa Leslie Award will be announced at a later date alongside other honors recognizing top players at each position in college basketball.
For more details or updates about these awards visit hoophallawards.com or follow @hoophallu on social media platforms X and Instagram using #KareemAward or #LeslieAward.
