Ahead of the 2026-27 Iowa women's basketball season, third-year point guard Chit-Chat Wright was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award preseason watch list, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced Monday.
Wright is one of 20 players nationally selected to the preseason watch list for the award, which recognizes the top point guard in NCAA Division I women's basketball.
The third-year guard enters the 2026-27 season after a breakout first year with the Hawkeyes in which Wright started all 31 games and averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per contest on 42.9% shooting and 44% from beyond the arc. The Atlanta, Ga., native totaled 387 points and 138 assists, with her assist total ranking
seventh on Iowa's single-season list for second-year players.
Everyone’s talking about Chit-Chat 👀@ChazadiW x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Sf40cyntnj
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) October 26, 2026
Last season, Wright earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference's coaches and honorable mention recognition from the media.
Now in its 28th year, the Nancy Lieberman Award recognizes point guards who demonstrate exceptional floor leadership, playmaking, and ball-handling skills. Caitlin Clark was the last Hawkeye to win the award, earning the honor three consecutive seasons from 2022-24.
Along with Wright, the 19 other players on the Watch List include KK Arnold (UConn), Jasmine Bascoe (Villanova), Kennedy Blair (Michigan State), Zoe Brooks (NC State), Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State), Aaliyah Chavez (Oklahoma), Jazzy Davidson (USC), Katie Fiso (Oregon), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Mila Holloway (Michigan), Kymora Johnson (Virginia), Zamareya Jones (Louisville), Liv McGill (Oklahoma State), S’Mya Nichols (Kansas), Bryanna Preston (Texas), Britt Prince (Nebraska), Gal Raviv (Miami), Jada Williams (LSU), and Jadyn Wooten (TCU).
Fan voting begins Friday, Oct. 30. The list will be narrowed to 10 candidates in February before five finalists are announced in March. The Hall of Fame's award selection committee.
No. 10 Iowa hosts Maryville in an exhibition on Thursday, Oct. 29, before opening the regular season Monday, Nov. 2 against Towson. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and will stream on B1G+.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women's basketball guard named to Nancy Lieberman Award watch list
