HOPEWELL, N.J -- Bowling Green's Lexi Fleming, Buffalo's Dyaisha Fair and Ohio's CeCe Hooks have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. The 25-member watch list was unveiled on Wednesday morning.
The Becky Hammon Award was first awarded in 2020, with South Dakota's Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner. FGCU's Kierstan Bell won the award in 2021. This year's preseason watch list includes representation from 22 schools and 13 conferences.
Fleming was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year last season, and also was named to the All-MAC Second Team. Fleming played in 27 of BGSU's 29 games in 2020-21, starting all 27, and led the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game. She also paced the Falcons in minutes played (33.1 mpg), free throws made (89) and attempted (111), FT percentage (.802), steals (67) and steals per game (2.48) in her initial season in Northwest Ohio.
Fair was named to the All-MAC First Team and All Defensive Team a season ago after averaging 24.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. She became the fastest player in program history and 14th fastest in Division I women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points, doing so in her 44th career game. Fair also recorded the program's first triple double in nearly 20 years with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Akron. The Rochester, NY native finished the season ranked sixth in the nation in scoring (24.1) while also ranking in the top 25 in free throws made (145), free throws attempted (179), final points (579), steals (70), field goals made (187), field goals attempted (513) and assists (120)
Hooks earned MAC Player of the Year, MAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-MAC First Team, All-MAC Defensive Team, and an All-American Honorable Mention recognition last season. In the 2020-21 campaign, Hooks averaged a MAC-best 25.1 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds and 4 assists in 34.4 minutes per game. She also recorded 94 steals during the season, good for 3.4 per game. She became the second player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points, and scored over 30 points five different times and logged the second-ever triple double in program history with a statline of 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 steals in a game against Miami.
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." In January, 15 players will be named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in February, with five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in late March.
