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October 30, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Starting Five Fan Voting

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN – Three Oklahoma women's basketball standouts earned spots on national preseason watch lists this week as the Naismith Trophy and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced their preseason selections.

Sophomore guard Aaliyah Chavez was named to the watch lists for the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year and Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award, while senior forward Sahara Williams earned recognition for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award and fifth-year forward Sa'Myah Smith was selected to the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award watch list.

Chavez enters her sophomore campaign as one of the nation's premier guards after a record-setting freshman season in 2025-26. The reigning ESPN and CBS Sports National Freshman of the Year averaged a team-high 18.4 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game en route to All-SEC second-team and WBCA All-America honorable mention honors. Chavez led all true freshmen nationally in scoring and ranked seventh overall in the SEC. The Lubbock, Texas, native was also named a preseason All-SEC first-team selection by the league's coaches earlier this month.

Williams earned a spot on the Cheryl Miller Award watch list for the second consecutive season following the most productive campaign of her career. The senior averaged career highs of 12.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists while adding 1.1 steals per game in 2025-26. She joined UConn's Sarah Strong as the only two Power Five players nationally to reach those averages last season. Williams also became the 40th player in Oklahoma history to surpass 1,000 career points and enters her final season in Norman as one of the SEC's most versatile forwards.

Smith was named to the Katrina McClain Award watch list for the second straight year as she prepares for her first season in Norman. The DeSoto, Texas, native spent the 2025-26 campaign at Virginia, where she averaged 7.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Prior to her time with the Cavaliers, Smith played three seasons at LSU, helping the Tigers capture the 2023 national championship and earning SEC All-Freshman Team honors.

Fan voting for the Naismith Starting Five Awards opens Oct. 30. The 20-player watch lists will be trimmed to 10 candidates before five finalists are announced later in the season.

The 21st-ranked Sooners open the 2026-27 season Monday, Nov. 2, against No. 12 North Carolina in Paris, France. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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Players Mentioned

Aaliyah Chavez

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/ Women's Basketball

Sa'Myah Smith

F
/ Women's Basketball

Sahara Williams

F
/ Women's Basketball

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