The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
10.26.2026 | Women's Basketball
Preston named to the 20 player watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Texas women's basketball junior Bryanna Preston was named to the 20 player watch list for the 2027 Nancy Liberman Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced on Monday.
Now in its 28th year, the award recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman.
Preston takes the reigns at point guard in her junior season for Texas after being a key piece of Texas teams in her first two seasons in Austin. In her freshman year she scored 12 points in the Longhorns Sweet 16 win over Tennessee. Last season she played in 30 games and scored in double figures in four games and tallied at least four assists in nine games, including a season-high seven assists against Vanderbilt and Arkansas. Preston poured in a career-high 16 points against Incarnate Word and for the season recorded a field goal percent of 54.1 percent.
2027 Nancy Lieberman Award Candidates
KK Arnold UConn
Jasmine Bascoe Vilanova
Kennedy Blair Michigan State
Zoe Brooks NC State
Jaloni Cambridge Ohio State
Aaliyah Chavez Oklahoma
Jazzy Davidson USC
Katie Fiso Oregon
Hannah Hidalgo Notre Dame
Mila Holloway Michigan
Kymora Johnson Virginia
Zamareya Jones Louisville
Liv McGill Oklahoma State
S'Mya Nichols Kansas
Bryanna Preston Texas
Britt Prince Nebraska
Gal Raviv Miami
Jada Williams LSU
Jadyn Wooten TCU
Chit-Chat Wright Iowa
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in each of the three rounds starting on Friday, October 30. In February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2027 Bob Cousy and Nancy Lieberman Awards will be narrowed to 10, then to five in March. In late March, the five finalists will be presented to Cousy, Lieberman, and the Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected. The selection committees for the Bob Cousy and Nancy Lieberman Awards are composed of top men's and women's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
The winners of the 2027 Cousy and Lieberman Awards will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Men's and Women's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Jerry West and Ann Meyers Drysdale Awards (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving and Cheryl Miller Awards (Small Forward), Karl Malone and Katrina McClain Awards (Power Forward), and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lisa Leslie Awards (Center).
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award include Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas (2026), Braden Smith, Purdue (2025), Tristen Newton, Connecticut (2024), Markquis Nowell, Kansas State (2023), Ja Morant, Murray State (2019), Jalen Brunson, Villanova (2018), Trey Burke, Michigan (2013), Kendall Marshall, North Carolina (2012), Kemba Walker, Connecticut (2011), and Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's (2004).
Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame (2026), Caitlin Clark, Iowa (2022-24), Paige Bueckers, UConn (2021 and '25), Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (2018-20), Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame (2012-13), Diana Taurasi, UConn (2003-04), and Sue Bird, UConn (2000-02).
For more information on the 2027 Bob Cousy and Nancy Lieberman Awards and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu, #CousyAward, and #LiebermanAward on X and Instagram.
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. For more information, visit us online: WBCA.org, follow @wbca1981, or call 1-770-279-8027.
About the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and celebrating the game of basketball at every level—men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches, and contributors worldwide. The Hall of Fame museum is home to nearly 500 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Welcoming close to 200,000 visitors each year, the museum invites fans to learn about the game, experience interactive exhibits, and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game's elite, the Hall of Fame also operates more than 100 high school and collegiate games annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum, and events, visit hoophall.com or follow @hoophallu.
