%20--%3e%3csvg%20xmlns:inkpad='http://taptrix.com/inkpad/svg_extensions'%20height='231pt'%20xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='796pt'%20version='1.1'%20viewBox='0,0,796,231'%3e%3cdefs/%3e%3cg%20id='Untitled'%20inkpad:layerName='Untitled'%3e%3cpath%20d='M102.252+48.3067L83.5399+48.3067L83.5399+182.202L102.252+182.202L102.252+230.822L-0.0490809+230.822L-0.0490809+182.202L18.6626+182.202L18.6626+48.3067L-0.0490809+48.3067L-0.0490809+0.300613L102.252+0.300613L102.252+48.3067ZM239.828+230.822L165.748+230.822C138.908+230.822+121.27+213.184+121.27+184.35L121.27+46.773C121.27+18.092+139.215+0.300602+165.748+0.300602L239.828+0.300602C266.669+0.300602+284.307+18.2454+284.307+46.773L284.307+184.35C284.307+213.031+266.362+230.822+239.828+230.822ZM218.816+182.356L218.816+48.4601L186.607+48.4601L186.607+182.356L218.816+182.356ZM313.448+48.3067L297.037+48.3067L297.037+0.300613L394.123+0.300613L394.123+48.6135L375.718+48.6135L392.282+159.503L426.945+0.300613L476.025+0.300613L512.834+159.503L526.178+48.6135L509.307+48.6135L509.307+0.300613L605.166+0.300613L605.166+48.6135L589.368+48.6135L560.534+231.129L482.313+231.129L451.945+95.0859L420.963+230.822L345.81+230.822L313.448+48.3067ZM588.141+182.356L605.779+182.356L640.902+0.300613L745.656+0.300613L780.166+182.356L796.577+182.356L796.577+230.975L718.356+230.975L710.994+174.687L672.19+174.687L665.288+230.975L588.601+230.975L588.141+182.356L588.141+182.356ZM706.853+132.509L691.975+39.4111L676.638+132.509L706.853+132.509Z'%20opacity='1'%20fill='%23ffcd00'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa women's basketball center Ava Heiden has been named to the 2027 Lisa Leslie Award preseason watch list, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday.
Heiden is one of 20 players nationally selected to the preseason watch list and one of six representatives from the Big Ten. The award recognizes the top center in NCAA Division I women's basketball.
The Sherwood, Oregon, native enters her third season with the Hawkeyes following a breakout 2025-26 campaign. Heiden averaged 18.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 64.1 percent from the field. She totaled 612 points and 246 rebounds, ranking third and seventh, respectively, on Iowa's second-year single-season lists.
Heiden recorded nine double-doubles and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media. She also garnered honorable mention All-America recognition from the Associated Press, USBWA and WBCA. Earlier this month, Heiden was named to the Coaches and Media Preseason All-Big Ten teams and the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List.
Iowa has produced one previous Lisa Leslie Award winner. Megan Gustafson earned the honor in 2019.
Fan voting begins Friday, Oct. 30. The 20-player watch list will be narrowed to 10 candidates in late February before five finalists are announced in March.
The No. 10 Hawkeyes open the 2026-27 regular season Monday, Nov. 2, against Towson at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will stream on B1G+.
2027 Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List
- Kate Koval – Baylor
- Arianna Roberson – Duke
- Ava Heiden – Iowa
- Clara Strack – Kentucky
- Amiya Joyner – Louisville
- Ashley Sofilkanich – Michigan
- Gracie Merkle – Minnesota
- Sharnecce Currie-Jelks – Murray State
- Ciera Toomey – North Carolina
- Elsa Lemmilä – Ohio State
- Audi Crooks – Oklahoma State
- Uche Izoje – Syracuse
- Clara Silva – TCU
- Breya Cunningham – Texas
- Sienna Betts – UCLA
- Jana El Alfy – UConn
- Aaliyah Del Rosario – Vanderbilt
- Tilda Trygger – Washington
- Alex Covill – Washington State
- Khyala Ngodo – West Virginia