UConn's Serah Williams Earns Spot on Award Watchlist
Just as the hype was heating up, Serah Williams’ name landed on the 2026 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List. For the senior who transferred to the UConn Huskies after three standout years at Wisconsin, it’s both recognition and motivation.
Serah Williams is on the Lisa Leslie Award watch list!
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) October 31, 2025
The award goes to the nation's top center. pic.twitter.com/ihDtMumjKr
It didn’t take long for Williams to show UConn Huskies fans what all the buzz was about. In the first two exhibition matches this year, she showed the fandom what all the buzz was about.
Serah Williams’ UConn Arrival Gets Even Bigger
Against Boston College, which was Williams’ debut match, she scored 15 points and had five rebounds. Then, just days later, she followed it up with another 14 points in a 105–39 blowout over Southern Connecticut State.
Williams’ inside presence, paired with her signature calm under pressure, gives UConn’s offense that extra shooting that they did not have last season to aid Sarah Strong. And now, the nation is taking notice, too.
At Wisconsin, Williams was a walking double-double machine. She made back-to-back All-Big Ten First Team honors and was crowned the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. During her junior year, she averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game.
Williams did all that while shooting just 49.3% from the field. However, it is not just about the numbers. She also set the Big Ten record with 12 straight double-doubles, anchoring both ends of the floor.
Now at UConn, she’s channeling that same energy into a new system. The Huskies’ high-octane style fits her perfectly. Williams is both a scoring threat in the paint and a defensive wall that makes opponents second-guess their moves.
In a team stacked with stars like Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, and Sarah Strong, Williams’s ability to control the paint adds a fresh dimension that they need with Paige Buckers gone. Being named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List is no small feat either.
The honor celebrates the top centers in Division I basketball, players who embody power, poise, and consistency, much like Leslie herself. Lisa Leslie is an eight-time WNBA All-Star, two-time league champion with the Los Angeles Sparks, and the first player ever to dunk in a WNBA game.
The award was introduced in 2018 as a part of the “Naismith Starting Five” series created by the WBCA and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It stands alongside the Ann Meyers Drysdale, Cheryl Miller, Katrina McClain, and Nancy Lieberman Awards, which honor the best players at each traditional position.
With fan voting for the Naismith Starting Five now open and the season tip-off against Louisville around the corner, Williams has all eyes on her. If her exhibition form is any sign of what’s to come, UConn fans might be witnessing the rise of their next great frontcourt star.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.