2022 Finalist Tamari Key Named To 2024 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced on Friday the 20 preseason watch-list candidates for the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award, and Tennessee's Tamari Key is among them.

Named after the three-time All-American, 1994 National Player of the Year and Class of 2015 Hall of Famer, the annual award, in its seventh year, recognizes the top centers in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.

Key, a 2021-22 top-five finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, is working her way back after being diagnosed with blood clots in her lungs last season and being restricted from physical activity after the ninth game. In her short time on the court a year ago, the 6-foot-6 center from Cary, N.C., averaged 8.4 ppg., 4.2 rpg. and 2.0 bpg. while shooting 66.7 percent over 18.9 minutes per contest. In her final action of the year, she scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed seven boards in a season-high 29 minutes vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech, limiting two-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley to six points on 3-of-13 shooting.

In 2021-22, Key averaged career highs in points (10.5) and rebounds (8.1) and a school-best 3.5 blocks per contest while shooting 58.1 percent from the field and starting all 34 contests. She blocked a UT-record 119 shots to lead the NCAA with the No. 4 total in SEC history and became UT's career blocks leader as well with 277 through her junior campaign.

Additionally, Key carded 11 double-doubles as a junior, turning in the eighth-most ever by a Lady Vol in her third season, and she became the first Lady Vol to have more than one career triple-double, charting her second in UT's win vs. No. 12/21 Texas on Nov. 21, 2021, and finishing with 10 points, a career-high 18 boards and 10 blocks. In addition to being named a Lisa Leslie Award finalist, Key was a semifinalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row as well as earning a first-time spot on the Coaches and USA TODAY Sports Network All-SEC Second Teams.

"The student-athletes that have been named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List are some of the best centers in the game, and we are excited to watch them excel on the court this season," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. "Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and her achievements at the collegiate, international and professional levels go largely unmatched by anyone in the game. We are thankful for her involvement alongside the selection committee throughout this process."

2024 Lisa Leslie Award Candidates*
Raegan Beers, Oregon State
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Kennedy Brown, Duke
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Kamila Cardosa, South Carolina
Jessika Carter, Mississippi State
Maria Gakdeng, North Carolina
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas
Taylor Jones, Texas
Tamari Key, Tennessee
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
Ila Lane, Berkeley
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Alexis Markowski, Nebraska
Rayah Marshall, USC
Bella Murekatete, Washington State
Sedona Prince, TCU
Liz Scott, Oklahoma
Desi-Rae Young, UNLV

*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2023-24 season

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting today, October 200. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2024 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 Leslie and the Hall of Fame's selection committee, where a winner will be selected.

The winner of the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five. Additional 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), in addition to the Men's Starting Five.

Previous winners of the Lisa Leslie Award are Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (2020-23), Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019), and A'ja Wilson, South Carolina (2018). For more information on the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #LeslieAward on Twitter and Instagram.

About Lisa Leslie:
Widely regarded as the best player in the country during her senior year of high school, Leslie decided to play basketball close to home at the University of Southern California. While at USC, she set Pac-10 records for scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, earning All-Pac-10 honors each of her four seasons. In 1991, she was named national freshman of the year and went on to earn All-American Honors the following three seasons. In her senior season, she won multiple national player of the year awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year and the WBCA Player of the Year.

In the summer of 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association was launched and with it, Lisa Leslie became a household name. The Los Angeles Sparks landed the hometown star, who would go on to help them win two world championships. As an eight-time All-Star and three-time MVP, Leslie became the face of the WNBA. In 2002, she became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. Leslie retired as the all-time leading rebounder in WNBA history and was an eight-time First Team All-WNBA performer. Internationally, Leslie won four gold medals in Olympic competition. Since retiring from professional play, Leslie has worked as a sports commentator and analyst for several networks while exploring fashion modeling and acting as well.

University of Tennessee Athletics

2022 Finalist Tamari Key Named To 2024 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List

Players Mentioned

Tamari Key

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