Iowa women's basketball duo named to Naismith Trophy watch list

Iowa women's basketball standouts Ava Heiden and Dani Carnegie were named to the 2026-27 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year watch list, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.The Hawkeye duo is among 50 players selected nationally for the preseason Naismith Trophy watch list, which recognizes the most outstanding player in women's college basketball.Hawks to watch 👀@NaismithTrophy x #Hawkeyespic.twitter.com/j5aIiHgpLP— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) October 29, 2026Starting with Heiden, she enters her third season with the Hawkeyes following a breakout 2025-26 campaign. The Sherwood, Ore., native averaged 18.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 64.1% from the field. Heiden recorded nine double-doubles and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media, along with honorable mention All-America status from the Associated Press, USBWA and WBCA.The 6-foot-4 center was also named to the 2026-27 Coaches and Media Preseason All-Big Ten teams earlier this month.As for Carnegie, she enters her first season at Iowa after earning unanimous first-team All-SEC honors at Georgia in 2025-26. The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native started all 32 games for Georgia, averaging 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. She also made 84 3-pointers last season and was rated as one of the top transfer portal prospects in the offseason.This past September, the third-year guard helped Team USA capture gold at the 2026 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup and was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award preseason watch list earlier this week.Iowa has produced two Naismith Trophy winners in program history, but three total times. Megan DiLeo was the first Hawkeye to earn the honor in 2019, followed by Caitlin Clark, who captured the award in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.In addition to Heiden and Carnegie, 11 other Big Ten players are on the Naismith Trophy watch list. Those other players include Berry Wallace (Illinois), Oluchi Okananwa (Maryland), Olivia Olson (Michigan), Syla Swords (Michigan), Britt Prince (Nebraska), Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State), Sienna Betts (UCLA), Addy Brown (UCLA), Jazzy Davidson (USC), JuJu Watkins (USC), and Avery Howell (Washington).Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNewsThis article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women's basketball duo named to Naismith Trophy watch list