Khamil Pierre Lands on Major Award Watchlist After Stellar Start
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RALEIGH — NC State women's basketball shot out to an 11-4 start to the season with a perfect 4-0 opening to the ACC conference schedule over the last three weeks. After a grueling non-conference slate, coach Wes Moore identified some of the team's weaknesses before embarking on a quest to repeat as ACC regular-season champions.
One of the key factors in NC State's improved play has been comfort from some of the team's transfer portal acquisitions, most notably Vanderbilt transfer forward Khamil Pierre, a junior. She has quietly risen as one of the nation's most productive forwards, ultimately earning on the 2025-26 John R. Wooden Award Top 25 Midseason Watch List, the school announced Thursday.
Looking at Pierre's impressive start
Big mama, no kids 💪
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) January 7, 2026
Congrats to @KhamilPierre for being named to the @WoodenAward Midseason Watchlist!
📰 https://t.co/g5PgkhTzn9 pic.twitter.com/FaqQILfvKy
The award comes on the back of one of Pierre's most complete performances for NC State, as she stepped up in the absence of Tilda Trygger, who sat out while battling an illness, in the win over Cal-Berkeley on Sunday. Pierre scored 21 points, including a dominant stretch of the third quarter when it felt like she racked up nearly every bucket for NC State. She scored eight in a row.
In her first 15 games with the Wolfpack, Pierre averaged 15.2 points and 11.9 rebounds, shooting 51.8% from the field. She ranks fourth in the country and second among Power Conference players in rebounding, On the back of her nose for rebounding the ball and savvyness in the low post, she has recorded eight double-doubles since joining the Pack, good for eighth in the country.
Cooking down low rn 👩🍳 @KhamilPierre pic.twitter.com/tFgjHq7AX5
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) January 4, 2026
After being the focal point of a Vanderbilt squad that made the NCAA Tournament, Pierre joined the Wolfpack, needing to learn to coexist with star guards Zoe Brooks and Zam Jones, as well as Trygger down low. It took some time for her to adjust to her new settings, but she trusted Moore and the Wolfpack's process. Now, that trust is manifesting into stellar performances.
"I came off a really good season, but also... I feel like I lost that confidence coming to a new team," Pierre said. "It's really hard to be comfortable and to find your groove again. So, I'm really just confiding in myself and finding that confidence I've had and just bringing that out to the court."
Q & Z with Ice in their veins ❄️ pic.twitter.com/YYtqMEkDvH
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) January 4, 2026
When NC State traveled to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge, Pierre started to look more comfortable in her role. She recorded a monster 21-rebound performance in the Wolfpack's win over Green Bay. If Pierre continues to stuff the stat sheet and be a valuable contributor on a team with NCAA Tournament aspirations, she should be in the mix for the award moving forward.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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