MANHATTAN, Kansas (KStateSports.com) – K-State senior center and All-American candidate Ayoka Lee added another national award watch list to her season, as she has been named to the 2023-24 Wade Watch List by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Lee was among four players added to the list at midseason. This is the third time in her career that she has been a candidate for the Wade Trophy.
The Wade Trophy is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women’s basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. First awarded in 1978 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America, the Wade Trophy has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I National Player of the Year since 2001.
The committee will narrow the watch list for the honor to four finalists in mid-March. The winner of the 2024 Wade Trophy will be announced April 4 in Cleveland — site of the 2024 WBCA Convention and NCAA Women’s Final Four.
The two-time USBWA/Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week recipient this season, has had a strong 2023-24 as she is averaging 19.8 points on a career-best .677 field goal percentage, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots. She ranks second in the nation and leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage. Lee is fourth in the Big 12 in scoring average and leads the league and is eighth in the nation for blocks per game.
Lee, a Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 finalist, has recorded nine games this season with 20 or more points including her second career 20-20 double-double with 24 points, 21 rebounds and five blocked shots against Oral Roberts.
In her career, Lee ranks fourth in school history for points scored with 2,017, second for rebounds with 1,034, the school record holder for career blocks with 284 and owns the school record for career double-doubles with 55.
K-State begins a two-game road trip on Wednesday, as the Wildcats visit Oklahoma at 6 p.m.
