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Another Trojan Earns National Attention as Rayah Marshall Is Picked As A Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10 Candidate
February 07, 2025 | Women's Basketball
Fans can start voting for Naismith Starting Five award winners this week at hoophallawards.com.
The nation's highest honor for a women's basketball center is named for Trojan great Lisa Leslie. It's fitting, then, that a current Trojan following in the footsteps of that USC legend is in the running for Leslie's own Naismith Starting Five Award. USC senior Rayah Marshall is in good company as a Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10 candidate, as selected by the Basketball Hall of Fame's Naismith Starting Five committee, in collaboration with the WBCA.
Marshall is the third Trojan to be in line for one of the Naismith Starting Five awards this season, joined by JuJu Watkins as a candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award and Kiki Iriafen as a candidate for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award. Both Watkins and Iriafen were the winner of their respective awards last season.Â
The Lisa Leslie Award now in its eighth year recognizes the top centers in Division I women's college basketball. It is named after the three-time All-American 1994 National Player of the Year and Class of 2015 Hall of Famer.Â
Senior center Marshall leads the Trojans with 2.2 blocks per game, ranking her No. 20 in the nation in that category. She is USC's top rebounder with 9.0 per game while averaging 7.7 points per game on the offensive end. She has posted three double-doubles this season, giving her a total of 38 as a Trojan to rank seventh all-time at USC in career double-doubles. So far, she is pulling down 6.3 defensive rebounds per game for the Trojans.
Marshall also was recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, and she is also on the Naismith Trophy Watch List for 2025.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in both of the remaining rounds starting on Friday, February 7, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, the Top 10 list will be narrowed to just five, and in late March, the five finalists will be presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected. The Selection Committees for the Lisa Leslie Award 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 winner of the 2025 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's and Women's Starting Five. Additional women's awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward) and the Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward).Â
Previous winners of the Lisa Leslie Award are Cameron Brink, Stanford (2024), Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (2020-23), Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019) and A'ja Wilson, South Carolina (2018).
For more information on the Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #LeslieAward on X and Instagram.
About the WBCA:Â
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:Â
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 475 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 and follow @hoophallU.
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Marshall is the third Trojan to be in line for one of the Naismith Starting Five awards this season, joined by JuJu Watkins as a candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award and Kiki Iriafen as a candidate for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award. Both Watkins and Iriafen were the winner of their respective awards last season.Â
The Lisa Leslie Award now in its eighth year recognizes the top centers in Division I women's college basketball. It is named after the three-time All-American 1994 National Player of the Year and Class of 2015 Hall of Famer.Â
Senior center Marshall leads the Trojans with 2.2 blocks per game, ranking her No. 20 in the nation in that category. She is USC's top rebounder with 9.0 per game while averaging 7.7 points per game on the offensive end. She has posted three double-doubles this season, giving her a total of 38 as a Trojan to rank seventh all-time at USC in career double-doubles. So far, she is pulling down 6.3 defensive rebounds per game for the Trojans.
Marshall also was recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, and she is also on the Naismith Trophy Watch List for 2025.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in both of the remaining rounds starting on Friday, February 7, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, the Top 10 list will be narrowed to just five, and in late March, the five finalists will be presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected. The Selection Committees for the Lisa Leslie Award 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 winner of the 2025 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men's and Women's Starting Five. Additional women's awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward) and the Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward).Â
Previous winners of the Lisa Leslie Award are Cameron Brink, Stanford (2024), Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (2020-23), Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019) and A'ja Wilson, South Carolina (2018).
For more information on the Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #LeslieAward on X and Instagram.
About the WBCA:Â
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:Â
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 475 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 and follow @hoophallU.
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