Mulkey Named To Naismith Defensive Player Of The Year Watch List

SEATTLE -- Washington women's basketball center Nancy Mulkey is one of 15 players in the country named to the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced this week. 

The award is presented annually to "the most outstanding women's defensive basketball player who achieves tremendous on-court success." This is Mulkey's third consecutive year on the watch list (2020, 2021, 2022), and during the 2020-21 season she was named a semifinalist.

A transfer from Rice, Mulkey has thrived in her first season in the Pac-12. She currently leads the conference and is 5th in the country with 3.3 blocks per game. 

One of the most accomplished defensive players in the game, Mulkey is second among active Division I players with 367 career blocks and third with a career average of 3.1 blocks per game. 

This is the third major award watch list Mulkey has been named to this season, having already been named to the watch lists of the Naismith National Player of the Year and Lisa Leslie Center of the Year awards.