Markowski Named Leslie Award Candidate

Nebraska center Alexis Markowski was honored Friday as one of 20 candidates nationally on the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List.

The Lisa Leslie Award, presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), honors the nation’s top center in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. It is named after three-time All-American and 1994 National Player of the Year Lisa Leslie, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. 

Markowski made an instant impact in her first season at Nebraska in 2021-22. The 6-2 center out of Lincoln Pius X High School was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 12.8 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds. Markowski, who came off the bench early in the season before taking over a starting role, was an eight-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and the USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Jan. 11, 2022).

Nebraska’s Offensive MVP last season, Markowski was a Preseason First-Team All-Big Ten selection prior to the start of the 2022-23 campaign. She helped the Huskers to a 24-9 overall record and a trip to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals a year ago, after averaging team bests of 15.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in Big Ten Conference play. She also hit 54 percent of her shots from the field, including 53.6 percent of her three-point attempts, during league action in 2021-22.

The Lisa Leslie Award Watch List features several Big Ten posts, including Iowa’s Monika Czinano and Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes. Markowski is also scheduled to go head-to-head against Leslie Award Watch List members Jessika Carter from Mississippi State and Elizabeth Kitley from Virginia Tech during the 2022-23 regular season. 

A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates for the Lisa Leslie Award. 

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting Friday, Oct. 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award will be narrowed to 10, and in late February a final list of five candidates will be selected. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame selection committee with a winner being selected.

The winner of the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a date yet to be determined, 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 (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward) and Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward).

Previous winners of the Lisa Leslie Award are Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (2020-22), Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019) and A’ja Wilson, South Carolina (2018).

For more information on the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #LeslieAward on Twitter and Instagram.

2023 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

Francesca Belibi, Stanford

Lauren Betts, Stanford

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

Kennedy Brown, Duke

Jessika Carter, Mississippi State

Lucy Cochrane, Portland

Monika Czinano, Iowa

Lauren Ebo, Notre Dame

Emma Grothaus, Washington

Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana

Taylor Jones, Texas

Dorka Juhasz, UConn

Tamari Key, Tennessee

Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech

Ila Lane, UC Santa Barbara

Alexis Markowski, Nebraska

Bella Murekatete, Washington State

Quay Miller, Colorado

Sedona Prince, Oregon

Josie Williams, Louisville