Iowa women's basketball's Ava Heiden named to Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

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Iowa women's basketball's Ava Heiden named to Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

Iowa women's basketball's Ava Heiden named to Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire · Hawkeyes Wire

Mon, November 2, 2026 at 1:01 PM UTC ·

2 min read

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As Iowa women's basketball prepares for an exciting 2026-27 campaign, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame named third-year center Ava Heiden as one of 20 players nationwide appearing on the 2027 Lisa Leslie Award preseason watch list .

The Sherwood, Oregon, native enters her third season with the Hawkeyes after a breakout 2025-26 campaign in which she averaged 18.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 64.1% from the field. In season totals, Heiden finished with 612 points and 246 rebounds, ranking third and seventh, respectively, on Iowa's second-year single-season lists.

Along with her impressive stat line, the 6-foot-4 center's nine double-doubles last season helped earn her first-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media, as well as honorable mention All-America recognition from the Associated Press, USBWA and WBCA. Earlier this month, Heiden was named to the Coaches and Media Preseason All-Big Ten teams and the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List.

The annual award recognizes the top center in NCAA Division I women's basketball, and Heiden is joined by six other players from the Big Ten.

In program history, Megan DiLeo is the only Iowa player to have won the Lisa Leslie Award, which she earned in 2019.

Fan voting for the award begins Friday, Oct. 30. After that, the 20-player watch list will narrow to 10 candidates in February, and five finalists will be announced in March. For more information, visit hoophallawards.com .

2027 Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List

Kate Koval – Baylor
Arianna Roberson – Duke
Ava Heiden – Iowa
Clara Strack – Kentucky
Amiya Joyner – Louisville
Ashley Sofilkanich – Michigan
Gracie Merkle – Minnesota
Sharnecce Currie-Jelks – Murray State
Ciera Toomey – North Carolina
Elsa Lemmilä – Ohio State
Audi Crooks – Oklahoma State
Uche Izoje – Syracuse
Clara Silva – TCU
Breya Cunningham – Texas
Sienna Betts – UCLA
Jana El Alfy – UConn
Aaliyah Del Rosario – Vanderbilt
Tilda Trygger – Washington
Alex Covill – Washington State
Khyala Ngodo – West Virginia

Ava Heiden stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Taylor Stremlow stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Amari Whiting stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Chazadi 'Chit-Chat' Wright stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Layla Hays and Journey Houston stand for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

McKenna Woliczko stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Jocelyn Faison stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Bria Medina stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Jocelyn Faison, Chazadi 'Chit-Chat' Wright and Dani Carnegie stand for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Layla Hays and Ava Heiden stand for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Dani Carnegie stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Journey Houston stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Iowa City.
(Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

Iowa head coach Jan Jensen speaks to reporters Oct. 13, 2026 during the Iowa women’s basketball media day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
(Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Cit, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women's basketball's Ava Heiden named to Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

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