University Southern California Trojans
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
USC’s Rayah Marshall Earns Spot on Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Watch List
November 01, 2024 | Women's Basketball
One of four active players who averaged a double-double the last two seasons, senior Marshall is up for top honors.
LOS ANGELES — USC senior Rayah Marshall — doing her fellow Trojan proud — has earned her second selection to the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Watch List as she enters her final season at USC. Named after a true Trojan great, the Lisa Leslie Award is in its eighth year, and honors the top center in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Marshall is again one of 20 players in line for the award, as announced today (Nov. 1) by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, in partnership with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The Lisa Leslie Award, in its eighth year,
Marshall is the fourth Trojan to be named to a 2024-25 watch list for the Naismith Starting 5, following Talia von Oelhoffen's selection to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Watch List on Oct. 28, JuJu Watkins' Oct. 29 pick to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List and Kiki Iriafen's Oct. 31 spot on the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Watch List.
Marshall, a 6-4 senior center/forward, enters her final season at USC holding 996 career points and 35 double-doubles. Her second stint on the Naismith Watch List comes after earning All-Pac-12 Team honors as as a sophomore and Honorable Mention as a junior. She also was named to the NCAA Portland Region 3 All-Tournament Team for her work in helping the Women of Troy reach the Elite Eight for the first time in 30 years. Now a two-time Lisa Leslie Award Watch List selection, Marshall also was recently honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List.
Marshall and the Women of Troy enter their 2024-25 campaign as the No. 3 team in the nation, set to open the season next week in Paris. No. 3 USC takes on No. 20 Ole Miss in an Aflac Oui-Play Game on November 4 at Adidas Arena in Paris, France.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in each of the three rounds starting on Friday, November 1. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the Lisa Leslie Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to the Lisa Leslie and Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected. The Selection Committee for the Lisa Leslie Award is composed of top college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2025 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Men's and Women's Starting Five.
For more information on the 2025 Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #LeslieAward on X and Instagram.
About Lisa Leslie:
In the summer of 1997, the sport of women's basketball received another much-needed shot in the arm with the launch of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Los Angeles Sparks, the latest addition to the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown, landed Lisa Leslie from the University of Southern California. Leslie was the perfect match for the Hollywood set, blending beauty and grace with strength and athleticism like no one before. An eight-time All Star and two-time world champion, Leslie became the face of the WNBA. As she solidified her spot as the dominant center stateside, her stock rose with her success on the international stage, where she won four gold medals in Olympic competition. In 2002, Leslie gave Sparks fans a reason to get out of their seats when she became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game and then led the Sparks to the franchise's second championship, winning her second Finals MVP. The three-time league MVP retired as the all-time leading rebounder in WNBA history and was an eight-time First Team All-WNBA performer.
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 non-profit 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—both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 450 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the 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 over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum, and events, visit hoophall.com, follow @hoophallu, or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.
Marshall is the fourth Trojan to be named to a 2024-25 watch list for the Naismith Starting 5, following Talia von Oelhoffen's selection to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Watch List on Oct. 28, JuJu Watkins' Oct. 29 pick to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List and Kiki Iriafen's Oct. 31 spot on the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Watch List.
Marshall, a 6-4 senior center/forward, enters her final season at USC holding 996 career points and 35 double-doubles. Her second stint on the Naismith Watch List comes after earning All-Pac-12 Team honors as as a sophomore and Honorable Mention as a junior. She also was named to the NCAA Portland Region 3 All-Tournament Team for her work in helping the Women of Troy reach the Elite Eight for the first time in 30 years. Now a two-time Lisa Leslie Award Watch List selection, Marshall also was recently honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List.
Marshall and the Women of Troy enter their 2024-25 campaign as the No. 3 team in the nation, set to open the season next week in Paris. No. 3 USC takes on No. 20 Ole Miss in an Aflac Oui-Play Game on November 4 at Adidas Arena in Paris, France.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in each of the three rounds starting on Friday, November 1. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the Lisa Leslie Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to the Lisa Leslie and Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected. The Selection Committee for the Lisa Leslie Award is composed of top college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2025 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Men's and Women's Starting Five.
For more information on the 2025 Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #LeslieAward on X and Instagram.
About Lisa Leslie:
In the summer of 1997, the sport of women's basketball received another much-needed shot in the arm with the launch of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Los Angeles Sparks, the latest addition to the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown, landed Lisa Leslie from the University of Southern California. Leslie was the perfect match for the Hollywood set, blending beauty and grace with strength and athleticism like no one before. An eight-time All Star and two-time world champion, Leslie became the face of the WNBA. As she solidified her spot as the dominant center stateside, her stock rose with her success on the international stage, where she won four gold medals in Olympic competition. In 2002, Leslie gave Sparks fans a reason to get out of their seats when she became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game and then led the Sparks to the franchise's second championship, winning her second Finals MVP. The three-time league MVP retired as the all-time leading rebounder in WNBA history and was an eight-time First Team All-WNBA performer.
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 non-profit 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—both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 450 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the 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 over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum, and events, visit hoophall.com, follow @hoophallu, or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.
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