Kansas State’s Tess Heal Lands Finalist Spot for 2026 Women’s College All-Star Game
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The national spotlight is shining brightly on Manhattan, Kansas, once again. Kansas State senior guard Tess Heal has been officially named a finalist for the prestigious Lilly Women’s College All-Star Game. The highly anticipated event is scheduled for April 4 at Global Credit Union Arena, located on the campus of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
Kansas State Continues All-Star Tradition with Tess Heal Finalist Honor
For fans across the nation, the game will be a major highlight of the basketball calendar, featuring a national broadcast on ESPN2 at 12 p.m.
⭐️ TESS HEAL ⭐️ 2026 Lilly Women's College All-Star Game Finalist
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) March 14, 2026
📄 https://t.co/qNSBVY3UQy@TessHeal x @IntersportHoops pic.twitter.com/QT8OSIeFYn
Heal’s selection continues an impressive trend of national recognition for the Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball program. She becomes the third consecutive Wildcat to be named a finalist for the Women’s College All-Star Game.
The lineage of success began in 2024 when Gabby Gregory earned the honor and competed in the game in Cleveland. That tradition was upheld in 2025 by program standouts Ayoka Lee and Serena Sundell. Heal’s inclusion this year signifies that Kansas State has firmly established itself as a mainstay in national award conversations.
The catalyst for Heal's finalist nod was her stellar performance throughout the 2025–26 Big 12 Conference season. As a leader in a rugged conference, Heal earned All-Big 12 Third Team honors. She spearheaded the Wildcats’ offensive attack in league play, leading the team with an average of 15.5 points per game.
During the conference slate, she maintained a shooting profile that rivaled the best in the country. She shot 53.1 percent from the field, which ranked fourth in the Big 12, while also converting 40.9 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, Heal knocked down 87.5 percent of her shots, good for third in the conference.
Overall, she ranked 13th in the Big 12 in scoring during conference games and reached double figures in 13 of the 15 league appearances she played in. Her reliability was best exemplified in a school-record performance at Houston. That's where she exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter alone to finish with a season-high 31.
Heal is currently third on the team in overall scoring with an average of 10.8 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range. She has also proven to be the Wildcats’ most dependable shooter from the free throw line, leading the team with an 86.3 percent mark.
Decorated Career Across Multiple Programs
Earlier this season, she surpassed the 1,500-career-point mark. She became only the second transfer in Kansas State history to reach that milestone, joining former teammate Gabby Gregory. Her career totals currently stand at an impressive 1,809 points, 443 rebounds, 385 assists, and 104 steals.
Heal’s journey to Kansas State included a season at Stanford University during the 2024–25 campaign. During her time with Stanford, she appeared in 30 games and shot an impressive 49.3 percent from three-point range while averaging 8.0 points per game.
She was named a two-time All-West Coast Conference First Team selection in 2023 and 2024 and captured the 2023 WCC Newcomer of the Year award. Her list of honors continued to grow as she earned six WCC Player of the Week recognitions, was selected to the 2023 WCC All-Freshman Team, and set a conference record by winning WCC Freshman of the Week 12 times.
Her statistical production during those seasons placed her among the elite players in the country. Across the 2022–23 and 2023–24 campaigns, Heal was one of only three players in the nation to average at least 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists while shooting at least 45 percent from the field. The other two players in that exclusive group were Caitlin Clark and Rachael Rose.
Heal represented Australia at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Madrid in 2023. She even guided Australia to a gold medal at the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship in 2022.
Heal comes from what many consider Australian basketball royalty. She is the niece of Shane Heal, a legendary figure in Australian men’s basketball history. Her cousin, Shyla Heal, continued the family tradition by becoming the eighth overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky.
Kansas State is now awaiting its official postseason destination. The selection show for the 2026 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament is scheduled for March 15 at 8 p.m.
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Shayni Maitra is a sports girl through and through writing about everything from locker room drama to game-day legends in the NFL and NBA. She’s covered the action for outlets like College Sports Network, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, NB Media, and PinkVilla, blending sharp takes with a deep love for storytelling. Whether it’s college football rivalries, Olympic gold-chasers, or the off-field chaos that keeps Twitter alive, Shayni brings the heat with heart—and just the right amount of humor.