Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Josh Wang
10/27/2026 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Twenty players named to Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Columbia senior Riley Weiss has been named to the watch list for the 2027 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, recognizing the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced a list of 20 candidates from around the nation on Tuesday, which was determined by a national committee of top college basketball personnel.
The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, in its 10th year, honors the top shooting guard in NCAA Division I women's college basketball. It is named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer, the first player, regardless of gender, to be chosen for an All-America Team in four consecutive college seasons.
Previous winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award are Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt (2026), JuJu Watkins, USC (2024-25), Zia Cooke, South Carolina (2023), Christyn Williams, UConn (2022), Ashley Owusu, Maryland (2021), Aari McDonald, Arizona (2020), Asia Durr, Louisville (2019), and Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (2018).
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in each of the three rounds starting on Friday, October 30. In February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2027 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be narrowed to 10, then to five in March. In late March, the five finalists will be presented to Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected.
The selection committee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Awards is composed of top women's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
Weiss is coming off a season in which she scored a program-record 662 points (20.1 points per game) and led the Ivy League in scoring, total points, field goals made (238), and 3-pointers made (93). She became just the fourth player in Columbia history to average at least 20 points per game in a season while setting school records for single-season points and total field goals. With 232 career triples, Weiss continues her ascent up the Ivy League all-time charts after back-to-back seasons hitting over 90 shots from beyond the arc. She was named the 2025-26 Ivy League Player of the Year, a unanimous First Team All-Ivy League selection, and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division I Player of the Year, while leading Columbia to a 2026 WBIT Championship.
Entering the 2026-27 season, Weiss has accumulated 1,429 career points in three seasons, along with 125 assists and 105 steals. She averages 15.2 points per game across her career, shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from 3-point range and 84.2 percent from the free throw line. Her 1,429 career points place her among the top scorers in program history as she enters her senior campaign.
The Lions begin the 2026-27 season at home on Monday, November 2, against Davidson. Tip-off fro Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on women's college basketball's opening day is slated for 11 a.m.
2027 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates*
Riley Weiss - Columbia
Taryn Barbot – Pitt
Mikayla Blakes – Vanderbilt
Asia Boone – Kentucky
Dani Carnegie – Iowa
Talaysia Cooper – Ole Miss
MiLaysia Fulwiley – LSU
Delaney Gibb – BYU
Avery Howell – Washington
Donovyn Hunter – UCLA
Tessa Johnson – South Carolina
Riley Nelson – Duke
Oluchi Okananwa – Maryland
Tajianna Roberts – Louisville
Taliah Scott – Baylor
Syla Swords – Michigan
Lulu Twidale – Cal
JuJu Watkins – USC
Ruby Whitehorn – Arizona State
Hannah Wickstrom – Purdue
About the WBCA
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
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent nonprofit 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 worldwide. The Hall of Fame museum is home to nearly 500 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Welcoming close to 200,000 visitors each year, the museum invites fans to learn about the game, experience 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 more than 100 high school and collegiate games annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum, and events, visit hoophall.com or follow @hoophallu.
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, in its 10th year, honors the top shooting guard in NCAA Division I women's college basketball. It is named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer, the first player, regardless of gender, to be chosen for an All-America Team in four consecutive college seasons.
Previous winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award are Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt (2026), JuJu Watkins, USC (2024-25), Zia Cooke, South Carolina (2023), Christyn Williams, UConn (2022), Ashley Owusu, Maryland (2021), Aari McDonald, Arizona (2020), Asia Durr, Louisville (2019), and Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (2018).
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in each of the three rounds starting on Friday, October 30. In February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2027 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be narrowed to 10, then to five in March. In late March, the five finalists will be presented to Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame's selection committees, where winners will be selected.
The selection committee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Awards is composed of top women's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
Weiss is coming off a season in which she scored a program-record 662 points (20.1 points per game) and led the Ivy League in scoring, total points, field goals made (238), and 3-pointers made (93). She became just the fourth player in Columbia history to average at least 20 points per game in a season while setting school records for single-season points and total field goals. With 232 career triples, Weiss continues her ascent up the Ivy League all-time charts after back-to-back seasons hitting over 90 shots from beyond the arc. She was named the 2025-26 Ivy League Player of the Year, a unanimous First Team All-Ivy League selection, and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division I Player of the Year, while leading Columbia to a 2026 WBIT Championship.
Entering the 2026-27 season, Weiss has accumulated 1,429 career points in three seasons, along with 125 assists and 105 steals. She averages 15.2 points per game across her career, shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from 3-point range and 84.2 percent from the free throw line. Her 1,429 career points place her among the top scorers in program history as she enters her senior campaign.
The Lions begin the 2026-27 season at home on Monday, November 2, against Davidson. Tip-off fro Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on women's college basketball's opening day is slated for 11 a.m.
2027 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates*
Riley Weiss - Columbia
Taryn Barbot – Pitt
Mikayla Blakes – Vanderbilt
Asia Boone – Kentucky
Dani Carnegie – Iowa
Talaysia Cooper – Ole Miss
MiLaysia Fulwiley – LSU
Delaney Gibb – BYU
Avery Howell – Washington
Donovyn Hunter – UCLA
Tessa Johnson – South Carolina
Riley Nelson – Duke
Oluchi Okananwa – Maryland
Tajianna Roberts – Louisville
Taliah Scott – Baylor
Syla Swords – Michigan
Lulu Twidale – Cal
JuJu Watkins – USC
Ruby Whitehorn – Arizona State
Hannah Wickstrom – Purdue
About the WBCA
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
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent nonprofit 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 worldwide. The Hall of Fame museum is home to nearly 500 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Welcoming close to 200,000 visitors each year, the museum invites fans to learn about the game, experience 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 more than 100 high school and collegiate games annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum, and events, visit hoophall.com or follow @hoophallu.
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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