Zanai Barnett-Gay Named to Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watchlist

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HOPEWELL, N.J. – The Her Hoop Stats organization announced on Wednesday the watch list for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and Navy’s junior standout guard Zanai Barnett-Gay was at the forefront of the release as one of 25 players named to the exclusive list. First given out in 2020, the Becky Hammon Award is given to the nation’s top NCAA Division I player, who competes in one the 26 “mid-major” conferences.

Coming off a banner sophomore campaign, Barnett-Gay has already started stacking up preseason honors in advance of the 2025-26 season as she was recently named the Patriot League’s Preseason Player and Defensive Player of the Year. After scoring 18.2 points, grabbing 6.2 rebounds and assisting on 3.0 baskets per game, while picking opponents’ pockets for 89 total steals, Barnett-Gay was selected as the 2023-24 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and a member of the All-Patriot League First Team. Barnett-Gay improved on those first three statistical outputs as a sophomore in 2024-25 with a line of 19.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists to go along with 72 total steals. She was barely edged in balloting for Patriot League Player of the Year, but was still honored as the Defensive Player of the Year, while earning her second straight spot on the All-PL First Team. Barnett-Gay ranked first in steals, second in points and minutes, fourth in rebounds and seventh in assists in the Patriot League, while standing 32nd in scoring and 54th in steals per game nationally among DI players.

Barnett-Gay is the first Navy player to be named to the All-Patriot League First Team in back-to-back seasons since Jade Geif in 2012-13 and 2013-14. All-time, only eight players have ever earned multiple All-Patriot League First Team honors.

Looking forward to the 2025-26 season, the Glenn Dale, Maryland native returns as the nation’s seventh-highest scoring player among athletes, who have reached the 1,000-point plateau in terms of career points per game average. Barnett-Gay’s 18.6 scoring average (1,135 career points over 61 games) trails only some of the most prominent names in NCAA women’s basketball …
    JuJu Watkins – USC – 25.5 points per game
    Hannah Hidalgo – Notre Dame – 23.1 ppg
    Ta’Niya Latson – Florida State – 22.5 ppg
    Audi Crooks – Iowa State – 21.4 ppg
    Raegan McCowan – Western Illinois – 21.0 ppg
    Ny’Ceara Pryor – Sacred Heart/Texas A&M – 18.6 ppg
    Zanai Barnett-Gay – Navy – 18.6 ppg
    Kaylene Smikle – Maryland – 17.6 ppg
    Ashley Hawkins – Gardner-Webb/Santa Clara – 17.3 ppg
    Rachael Rose – Wofford/Clemson – 17.3 ppg

Below are the 25 players named to the 2025-26 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of Year Award
    Taryn Barbot – College of Charleston – Jr., Guard
    Riley Weiss – Columbia – Jr., Guard
    Meghan Anderson – Fairfield – Jr., G/F
    Kaety L’Amoreaux – Fairfield – Jr., Guard
    Kennedy Harris – George Mason – Jr., Guard
    Zahirah Walton – George Mason – R-Jr., Forward
    Allie Turner – Gonzaga – So., Guard
    Peyton McDaniel – James Madison – R-Sr., Guard
    Megan Olbrys – UMass – R-Sr., Forward
    Haven Ford – Murray State – Jr., Guard
    Halli Poock – Murray State – Jr., Guard
    Zanai Barnett-Gay – Navy – Jr., Guard
    Avery Koenen – North Dakota State – Jr., Forward
    En’Dya Buford – Old Dominion – Gr., Guard
    Madison St. Rose – Princeton – Sr., Guard
    Maggie Doogan – Richmond – Sr., Forward
    Rachel Ullstrom – Richmond – Sr., Guard
    Sophie Glancey – Santa Clara – Gr., Forward
    Brooklyn Meyer – South Dakota State – Sr., Forward
    Edyn Battle – South Florida – Gr., Guard
    Katie Davidson – South Florida – Gr., Guard
    Kirsten Lewis-Williams – South Florida – Jr., Guard
    Teresa Seppala – Tulsa – Sr., Guard
    Mary-Anna Asare – VCU – Sr., Guard
    Raegan McCowan – Western Illinois – Jr., G/F

Of note, Barnett-Gay and the Navy women’s basketball team is slated to match up with five of the above-mentioned players as the Mids travel to the University of Richmond on Nov. 23 to take on the Spiders’ duo of Maggie Doogan and Rachel Ullstrom before packing their backs once again for a road showdown in Tampa versus USF on Dec. 21. The Bulls have an announcement-high three players on the watch list; Edyn Battle, Katie Davidson and Kirsten Lewis-Williams.

A 15-player midseason watch list will be announced in January, followed by 10 semifinalists announced in February. The five finalists will be announced in early March, with the winner announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid, and players may play their way on or off it over the course of the season.

About Becky Hammon

Hammon was a three-time All-American at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program’s only appearance to date. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career. Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016, she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and was named to the W25 in 2021.

About Her Hoop Stats

Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women’s basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women’s basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women’s game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram).