Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker named to midseason watch list as Mid-Major Player of the Year

The national attention is rolling in for Lauren Whittaker.

The Gonzaga redshirt freshman forward was named to the midseason watch list for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award.

Whittaker is the only freshman named to the watch list and is one of four freshmen to be named to any of the watch lists in the award’s history.

She leads the West Coast Conference in scoring (19.3 points per game), rebounding (10.2) and field goal percentage (57.5). She leads all freshmen nationally with 10 double-doubles and is tied for ninth overall. She continues to add to the Gonzaga freshman record she broke earlier in the season.

Whittaker is 17th nationally in points (386) and 28th in the country in points per game. She’s 12th in the nation in rebounds (203) and 24th in rebounds per game. She ranks in the top three among freshmen nationally in nine statistical categories.

She was recognized in November as a Kay Yow Servant Leader and has been named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week eight times, including the last five in a row. In late December, she was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Tamika Cummings National Freshman of the Week.

Gonzaga’s Yvonne Ejim was the recipient of the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year in 2024 and was a finalist last year.