Leger-Walker named to Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Washington State women's basketball standout junior Charlisse Leger-Walker once again finds her name among the best shooting guards in the nation, as the two-time All-American is one of 20 players selected to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list as announced by the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Tuesday, October 18.

This marks the second year in a row that Leger-Walker has been included on the prestigious Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list, which is presented annually to the best shooting guard in NCAA Division I. She is one of three Pac-12 players to be named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list, as Leger-Walker was joined by Jade Loville of Arizona and Charisma Osborne of UCLA.

Last season, the New Zealand native once again led Washington State to the NCAA Tournament, marking the first time in program history that the Cougars have earned a bid into back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. No player in the Pac-12 has scored more points than Leger-Walker over the last two seasons, as her 935 points are the most scored by a Pac-12 player during that span. The guard also leads the Pac-12 in 20-point games over the last two years, as Leger-Walker has tallied 23 games with 20-or-more points. Her career scoring average of 17.3 points per game is the top scoring average for a Pac-12 player coming into this season that has played in 25-or-more collegiate games in their career. The guard from Waikato, New Zealand is also a two-time All-Pac-12 selection and was named the 2020-21 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

Leger-Walker is the fourth WSU women's basketball player to be selected to a Basketball Hall of Fame/WBCA Starting Five watch list. Last season, Leger-Walker was part of the 10 finalists for the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. She became the second Cougar in program history to be named a top-10 finalist, joining Borislava Hristova who was a top-10 finalist for the 2019 Cheryl Miller Award (Top Small Forward). Bella Murekatete also earned a spot on the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award watch list (Top Center), while Tia Presley was on the 2015 Nancy Liberman Award watch list (Top Point Guard).

Started in 2018, the Selection Committee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is composed of top women's college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.

College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds starting Friday, October 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Meyers Drysdale, herself, and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner will be selected. Fans can vote for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award by clicking the link here.

The WSU women's basketball team opens the 2022-23 season with an exhibition contest against Westmont (Calif.) on Oct. 30. Tip-off from Beasley Coliseum is set for 2 p.m. PT.

Fans can purchase season and single-game tickets for the 2022-23 campaign now at WSUCougars.com.

For more information on the Washington State women's basketball team, follow @WSUCougarWBB on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.