Iowa Sophomore Named to Top 10 Center List

To no surprise, Ava Heiden is the Iowa Hawkeyes sophomore named to the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10.

Despite this team's three-game losing streak, Heiden continues to lead the way with her 16.7 points per game. That total may not be enough to lead the B1G, but this is one of the toughest conferences in the nation for a reason.

Heiden's jump from year one to year two has been extremely impressive. Even if she doesn't win this award, she's still among the Top 10 centers in the nation, which is a huge step in the right direction.

The 6-foot-4 center has only been held to under double digits three times this season. Her eight-point effort against Northern Iowa doesn't mean much as Iowa won that game by 33, but she was held to just eight points against No. 10 Iowa State and No. 1 UConn.

Heiden Sees Her Name in Mid-Season List

B1G Time 😎

Ava Heiden has been named to the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10! pic.twitter.com/576EFIqUOF
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 6, 2026

Each year, the Basketball Hall of Fame's Naismith Starting 5 committee, in collaboration with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, recognizes the nation's top centers. This year, Heiden was a part of the original cut.

From here, Heiden must wait until the final five candidates are revealed the week of March 16. In the meantime, Hawkeyes fans can vote for Heiden on hoophallawards.com.

Iowa Hawkeyes center Ava Heiden — Iowa center Ava Heiden (5) takes to the bench during a game against Minnesota on Feb. 5, 2026, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the men's team, Bennett Stirtz is in the running for being the best point guard. Now, Iowa has two players they can continue to vote for as they hope either sees their name listed as the best in the nation. Hawkeyes fans can't take the fan voting for granted, as it counts as one vote during the final selection process.

Heiden's Stellar Season

NEW | Iowa's Ava Heiden has been named to the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10 list by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Starting 5 committee.

The sophomore averages 16.7 points, while shooting 63% from the field, and 7.3 rebounds. pic.twitter.com/RfgWGiZVXR
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) February 6, 2026

Losing Taylor McCabe was bad enough, but who knows how this Iowa team would look without Heiden. That's something second-year head coach Jan Jensen hasn't thought of, nor should she.

Heiden is sixth in the nation with her field goal percentage (63.2%). While she's sixth in the nation, that percentage is good for second in the B1G.

Other than that, Heiden leads the Hawkeyes with the most 20+ point games this season (6). Coming off a 24-point effort, Heiden would love to be a key reason this team gets back on track.

She hasn't shot less than 50% from the field since Jan. 11, when she was just 6-for-17 at Indiana. Other than that, she's been nearly lights out from the free throw line and continues to knock down every easy bucket that comes her way.

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