The women's Illinois basketball team is ready to make a run in March this season, and they will do so behind superstar Berry Wallace.
Wallace, a Pickerington, Ohio, product, returns to Illinois after leading the program with 18.4 points per game during the 2026-27 season . She will remain Illinois' primary scorer , even with all of the elite players she has around her .
The unanimous first-team All-Big Ten honoree is poised to have another monster season with the Illini, especially after being named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List.
Wallace has been named to the Player of the Year watch list for the second time in her collegiate career, joining Makira Cook as the only two Illini to be selected twice in their career. She is also the fourth Illini to be named to the list in program history.
Wallace will have to compete with 49 talented players from across the country for the award, which includes UConn's Sarah Strong, Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge, Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes, and USC's Jazzy Davidson.
The Illini will be led by Wallace. She is a versatile junior who can score at all three levels on the court and can match up on defense with some of the best players in the country. She is a high-motor player with great endurance, leading the Big Ten with 35.7 minutes per game last season.
Last season, Wallace benefited greatly from the elite roster around her. Teammates like Cearah Parchment, Destiny Jackson, and Maddie Webber helped to take some of the attention off her. Wallace should see similar success this upcoming season, especially with the addition of Divine Bourrage and the return of Gretchen Dolan and Manuella Alves.
There will be stout competition for this award, as Blakes averaged almost 30 points per game last season, and Cambridge will now be the face of Ohio State. After the jump from freshman to sophomore year, don't be surprised if Wallace makes this decision difficult for the Naismith board.
This article was originally published on www.writingillini.com as All eyes on Berry Wallace, as Illinois basketball star is named to Naismith Player of the Year watch list .
