HOPEWELL, N.J. (October 22, 2025) — Her Hoop Stats has announced the 25-player watch list for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, including two George Mason women's basketball players: Redshirt junior Zahirah Walton and junior Kennedy Harris. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, and Harvard's Harmoni Turner won the most recent award in 2025. 

Zahirah Walton built on her 2023-24 Rookie of the Year campaign to become one of the Atlantic 10's premier players in 2024-25, earning All-Defensive Team, All-Conference First Team, and A-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player honors. She started all 33 games for the Patriots, leading the team in points, free throws, and steals while averaging 14.8 points per game and finishing eighth in the league in scoring. Walton delivered consistent offensive production with 24 double-digit scoring games, including eight 20+ point outings and a career-high 30 points at Saint Louis. Her leadership and all-around play helped George Mason capture its first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Entering the 2025-26 season, Walton was named to the A-10 Preseason First Team and All-Defensive Team. 

Kennedy Harris made a major impact in her sophomore season, appearing in 27 games with 24 starts while averaging 13.9 points per game on 41.6% shooting. Despite missing time due to injury, she finished among the team's top three scorers and was twice named A-10 Player of the Week, also earning national recognition in the NCAA Starting Five for the week of Dec. 2. Harris posted 19 double-digit scoring games, including six performances with 20 or more points. She scored a career-high 29 points against Davidson on Jan. 22 and drained six three-pointers against George Washington just days later—tied for the second-most in a single game across the A-10. She also poured in 26 points against then-No. 10 Maryland and finished the year 12th in the conference in three-point shooting percentage. Entering the 2025-26 season, Harris was named to the A-10 Preseason First Team.

This year's watch list includes representatives from 19 teams and 12 conferences. The A-10 places five players on the watch list, which ties for the most for a single list in the award's history, matching the MAC's 2020-21 season, when it accounted for five of 15 players on that season's midseason watch list. The A-10 moves into first all-time with 13 unique players, ahead of the MAC and MVC with 12 each. 

Award Eligibility & Schedule 

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 15-player midseason watch list will be announced in January, followed by 10 semifinalists announced in February. The five finalists will be announced in early March, with the winner announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid, and players may play their way on or off it over the course of the season. 

About Becky Hammon 

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. 

About Her Hoop Stats 

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 (Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram).