Before the 2021-2022 season no WSU women’s basketball player had every been named to the preseason Wooden Award Top 50 Watch List. Now, just two years later, we can say that is has happened twice. And both times, that player was Charlisse Leger-Walker.

For the second-straight season, WSU women’s basketball star Charlisse Leger-Walker has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Watch List. The 50 player list was announced on Tuesday morning. The junior adds this watch list honor to an already long list this season, alongside the Naismith Trophy and the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch lists.

After a record breaking 2021-22 season, Leger-Walker entered her junior year with more sky-high expectations. And, so far this campaign, she has lived up to that hype. Through just three games, Leger-Walker leads the Pac-12 with 25 points per game, thanks mostly to her massive 35 point performance to nearly single handedly lead WSU to a dramatic come-from-behind win Friday against San Francisco. On Sunday, she followed up that performance with a 24 point afternoon in a win over Prairie View A&M in a game that also saw the junior becoming the fastest player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points.

The Wooden Award is awarded to the top players in both men’s and women’s basketball each season. The committee will announce their annual All-American team during the week of the Elite Eight before unveiling the 2023 Wooden Award recipient a couple weeks later in April.

Leger-Walker will have a couple more chances to bolster her award resume coming up this weekend in Laie, HI. The Cougs will take on BYU Friday night at 5 p.m. before facing off with Troy on Monday afternoon, also in Hawaii as part of the Northshore Showcase.

Leger-Walker named to Wooden Award Preseason Watch List - Washington State University Athletics
Washington State women's basketball junior Charlisse Leger-Walker has been named to The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy's® announced the Women's Preseason Top 50 Watch List.

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