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Hopewell, N.J. (February 18, 2026) — We are proud to announce the 10 semifinalists for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, and Harvard’s Harmoni Turner won the most recent award in 2025.

Below are the 10 semifinalists, listed in alphabetical order by school.

Graphic Credit: Morgan Reeder

This year’s list of semifinalists includes representatives from 10 teams and eight conferences. Two conferences – America East and Summit League – placed two players on the watch list. Hannah Wickstrom becomes UC Riverside’s first representative on any of the award’s watch lists.

Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker becomes just the second freshman to ever be named a semifinalist, joining Fairfield’s Meghan Andersen in 2024. No freshman has ever won the award or been named a finalist. Whittaker’s selection is Gonzaga’s fourth, moving into a tie with FGCU for the most total semifinalist nominations.

Kaety L’Amoreaux (Fairfield), Whittaker (Gonzaga), Adrianna Smith (Maine), and Brooklyn Meyer (South Dakota State) each became the second player to be named a semifinalist at least once for their respective teams. Only FGCU and South Dakota have had more players named semifinalists at least once, with three each.

Kaety L’Amoreaux, Fairfield, Jr., G
19.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.3 SPG

L’Amoreaux has taken a major step forward this season, especially in her scoring efficiency. Among players with at least 300 attempts from the field this season and last season, L’Amoreaux’s +0.18 improvement in points per scoring attempt is the largest in Division I this season.

Lauren Whittaker, Gonzaga, R-Fr., F
19.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.4 SPG

Just the second freshman to reach this stage of the award, Whittaker has helped to elevate a Gonzaga team that saw major changes last season following the graduation of most key players, including the 2024 Hammon Award winner, Yvonne Ejim. Whittaker’s defensive rebounding rate ranks fourth in Division I, while her points per scoring attempt rank 18th.

Adrianna Smith, Maine, R-Sr., F
21.9 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.6 SPG

Smith does it all for the Black Bears, with a usage rate that leads all players averaging at least 25 minutes per game. The lone player this season averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, she is on pace to become just the fourth player since 2009-10 to reach both those numbers plus four assists per game (min. 20 games).

Taylee Chirrick, Montana St., So., G
18.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 4.2 SPG

Chirrick has taken a leap in her sophomore season, bumping up her scoring, rebounding and facilitating significantly year-over-year. She has also retained her knack for steals, ranking second with 4.2 steals per game this season. This is after ranking sixth a year ago while playing just over 21 minutes per game. Her career steals average of 3.67 trails only Hannah Hidalgo and Ny’Ceara Pryor for the most among active players (min. 200 steals).

Avery Koenen, North Dakota St., Jr., F
18.9 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.3 BPG, 1.5 SPG

Koenen has gone from a strong player in the Summit League to being one of the nation’s most efficient scorers this season. Her 1.34 points per scoring attempt rank fifth nationally this season, and is on pace for the fourth-highest by a Summit League player since at least 2009-10 (min. 200 FGA).

Maggie Doogan, Richmond, Sr., F
21.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.2 BPG, 1.0 SPG

Doogan is the sole Division I player currently shooting 60% from inside the arc, 40% from 3-point range, and 85% from the stripe on at least 100 attempts from each. She would become just the third player to post that line since at least 2009-10.

Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota St., Sr., F
21.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.8 BPG, 1.0 SPG

Meyer has taken on even more offensive responsibility this season after being a semifinalist for the award in 2025. More impressively, she has done it without impacting her efficiency. She is shooting a little over two extra shots per game, and her PPSA has risen. She is also averaging a career-high 3.0 assists per game while cutting her turnovers, and she has more than doubled her block rate while committing fewer fouls.

Hannah Wickstrom, UC Riverside, So., G
23.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.9 SPG

Wickstrom started the season strong and has taken it to another level in Big West play this season. Her 24.9 points per game in 15 contests against conference foes lead the conference by more than five points. She has done this while also averaging 7.3 boards and 2.5 steals in the conference slate.

Nikola Priede, Vermont, Sr., C
17.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.0 SPG

Despite Vermont’s glacially paced offense – they average just 63.7 possessions per 40 minutes, the fourth-slowest this season – Priede is one of only six players to attempt at least 12 shots per game while shooting at least 55% from the floor (min. 20 games). Of the six players’ teams, the next-slowest averages 70.0 possessions per 40 minutes.

Mia Nicastro, Western Ill., Sr., F
24.4 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG

After two seasons playing limited minutes with Saint Louis and then a strong 2024-25 in her first season with Western Illinois, Nicastro has become one of the nation’s best volume scorers this season. Her 24.4 points per game rank fourth in Division I, and she leads all players in 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles with 10.

To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, players from Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this year.

The five finalists will be announced in early March, and the winner will be announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid, and players may play their way on or off over the course of the season.

Hammon was a three-time All-American at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program’s only appearance to date. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career. Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016, she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and was named to the W25 in 2021.

Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Additionally, Hammon is the only woman to be a head coach in the NBA Summer League and the only woman to be a member of an NBA All-Star coaching staff. Currently, Hammon is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and has won the 2022, 2023 and 2025 WNBA Championships.

Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women’s basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women’s basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women’s game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).