Courtesy UVA Media Relations
The Naismith Awards announced the 2025-26 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Watch List Presented by AXIA Time. Virginia point guard Kymora Johnson was named on the list of 50 players.
The Naismith Hall of Fame, in partnership with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, also announced the watch list candidates for the 2026 Katrina McClain Award. Virginia forward Sa’Myah Smith was named as one of 20 players on the watch list.
Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the creator of the game of basketball, the Naismith Trophy has become one of the most prestigious national honors awarded each year to top basketball players in the nation. The Naismith Women’s Player of the Year Award was first given to Anne Donovan of Old Dominion University in 1983. Dawn Staley remains the only Cavalier to win the award doing so in 1991 and 1992.
Johnson is coming off a sophomore season in which she earned All-ACC first team honors as well as a WBCA All-America honorable mention. Last season, she led the Cavaliers in scoring averaging 17.9 points per game and reached a pair of major statistical milestones along the way. She recorded the first triple-double of her career (20 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast) at Pitt, joining Dawn Staley as the only Cavaliers to accomplish the feat and marking just the third triple-double in program history. Later in the season, she became the 37th member of UVA’s 1,000-point club after a 33-point performance in a win over Stanford.
Johnson led the ACC averaging 6.5 assists in league games last season. She also led the league in free throw percentage (91.4) and ranked sixth in steals per game (2.17) in ACC play.
The Katrina McClain Award, now in its ninth year, recognizes the top power forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. It is named after the two-time All-American, 1987 National Player of the Year, and Class of 2012 Hall of Famer.
Smith spent the last three seasons at LSU where she shot 56-percent from the field. Over the course of her three years in Baton Rouge, the Tigers advanced to a pair of Elite Eight appearances and won an NCAA Championship in 2023. Last season, she earned a place in the starting lineup and led the Tigers with 51 blocks on the year while averaging 6.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. In the 2025 NCAA tournament, she averaged 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds to help lead LSU to the Elite Eight.
Fans can support their favorite player by participating in Fan Voting starting Friday, October 31. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the Katrina McClain Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to McClain, and the Hall of Fame’s selection committees, where winners will be selected. The Selection Committee for the Katrina McClain Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2026 McClain Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward), and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center).
Previous winners of the Katrina McClain Award are Aneesah Morrow, LSU (2025), Kiki Iriafen, Stanford (2024), Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (2023), NaLyssa Smith, Baylor (2021-22), Ruthy Hebard, Oregon (2018, ‘20), and Napheesa Collier, Connecticut (2019).
Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Watch List
Presented by AXIA Time
Nunu Agara, Stanford
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Madison Booker, Texas
Zoe Brooks, NC State
Addy Brown, Iowa State
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma
Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Jazzy Davidson, USC
Maggie Doogan, Richmond
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Skylar Forbes, Marquette
Toby Fournier, Duke
Azzi Fudd, UConn
MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
Yarden Garzon, Maryland
Delaney Gibb, BYU
Rori Harmon, Texas
Stailee Heard, Oklahoma State
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Ashlon Jackson, Duke
Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU
Raven Johnson, South Carolina
Kymora Johnson, Virginia
Reniya Kelly, North Carolina
Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Charlisse Leger-Walker, UCLA
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor
Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss
Olivia Miles, TCU
S’Mya Nichols, Kansas
Olivia Olson, Michigan
Khamil Pierre, NC State
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Tajianna Roberts, Louisville
Kaylene Smikle, Maryland
Kennedy Smith, USC
Clara Strack, Kentucky
Sarah Strong, UConn
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa
Syla Swords, Michigan
Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State
Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
Serah Williams, UConn
Laura Ziegler, Louisville
2026 Katrina McClain Award Candidates
Essence Cody, Alabama
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor
Toby Fournier, Duke
Meghan Andersen, Fairfield
Allie Kubek, Florida State
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa
Addy Brown, Iowa State
Amiya Joyner, LSU
Mir McLean, Maryland
Khamil Pierre, NC State
Natalie Potts, Nebraska
Latasha Lattimore, Ole Miss
Maggie Doogan, Richmond
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Nunu Agara, Stanford
Janiah Barker, Tennessee
Sienna Betts, UCLA
Sarah Strong, UConn
Sacha Washington, Vanderbilt
Sa’Myah Smith, Virginia
