Gonzaga star named to Player of the Year preseason watch list

Coach Lisa Fortier may have another Mid-Major Player of the Year on her squad

Gonzaga women's basketball head coach Lisa Fortier. | Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI

Gonzaga sophomore guard Allie Turner is one of 25 players on the 2026 Becky Hammon Player of the Year Award preseason watch list. The Becky Hammon Award is given annually to the best mid-major player in the country.

To be eligible, a player must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be 'mid-major', which eliminates the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Players from both Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible, which could indicate the new Pac-12 — where Gonzaga will play starting in 2026-27 — won't be included in this category next year.

Turner joins a list of five Zags who have been nominated for this award in the past, including superstar Yvonne Ejim, who won in 2024 and was nominated again in 2025. Gonzaga joins Princeton and South Florida as the only teams to have five players who have appeared on this list since it began back in 2020.

Turner was a star for Gonzaga last year as a true freshman, anchoring a new-look backcourt and forming an excellent inside-out duo with Ejim. The 5'8 guard from Saint Louis started 32 out of 35 games for the Zags, averaging 13.4 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds while shooting a blistering 45.7% from the three-point line on 6.6 attempts per game.

With 105 made threes on the year, Turner became one of just two college freshmen to record 100+ made threes on 40+% shooting in the past five years — with Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark being the other.

Turner was unsurprisingly named the WCC Rookie of the Year and was First Team All-Conference, and is a strong favorite to win the league's Player of the Year award in 2025-26.

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Allie Turner (11). | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

With Ejim out the door, along with veterans Esther Little, Maud Huijbens, Tayla Dalton, and transfer departures Claire O'Connor and Bree Salenbien, the Zags will have a lot of new faces to integrate this upcoming season.

Turner will be the focal point, but for her to perform at or above the level she did last year, the team will need strong performances from the frontcourt, which includes 6'3 redshirt freshmen Lauren Whittaker from New Zealand, returner McKynnlie Dalan, and a pair of transfer additions in Taylor Smith (Weber State) and Sierra Lichtie (Cal Poly).

Turner is one of two WCC players on the preseason watch list alongside Santa Clara forward Sophie Glancey, who transferred to the Broncos after putting up 18.3 points and 9.6 rebounds last year at Northern Arizona.

Other players on the list Gonzaga will face this year include Avery Koenen (North Dakota State) and Brooklyn Meyer (South Dakota State).

Gonzaga begins the season officially on Friday, Nov. 7, in Fargo against the Bison of North Dakota State at 5:00 PM PT.