Lauren Whittaker didn’t need long to make her mark at Gonzaga, and now the rest of the country is catching up.
After a first collegiate season that made her the WCC’s top player, the 6-foot-3 forward is already drawing national notice heading into her sophomore year. On Wednesday, Her Hoop Stats included Whittaker on its 25-player Becky Hammon Player of the Year Award Watch List, putting her among the early names to watch in the race for the top player outside the Power Five.
Whittaker’s freshman numbers did the talking. She averaged 19.1 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 58.4% on twos and 35.5% from beyond the arc. Those totals led the WCC, and they helped her pair the conference’s Player of the Year honor with Freshman of the Year.
The Becky Hammon Award, named for former Colorado State guard and current Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, goes annually to the best player competing outside the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East and Big 12. Gonzaga has had one winner before: Yvonne Ejim, who took home the award in 2024 and was also one of five finalists in 2025.
Whittaker is one of just two Pac-12 players on this year’s preseason list, joined by Colorado State guard Camryn Runner, who transferred after a strong season at Evansville.
Her selection only adds to the buzz around Gonzaga’s 2026-27 group, which brings back 10 of 13 players and enters the season as the favorite in the new-look Pac-12. That core includes Whittaker, two-time All-WCC First Team guard Allie Turner, and last year’s WCC Sixth Woman of the Year Jaiden Haile.
The Zags also have Ines Bettencourt back in the mix after her eligibility was granted in the Glancey vs. NCAA lawsuit in California. Bettencourt, a 6-foot guard who spent two years at UConn before the last two seasons in Spokane, averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game last year.
She came off the bench in Gonzaga’s exhibition win over Westmont College on Tuesday, while junior guard Teryn Gardner started instead. Gardner joined Whittaker, Turner, Zee Aokuso and Taylor Smith in the opening group, the same five who started last season.
Even with all that returning talent, Whittaker still stands as Gonzaga’s center of gravity. Her footwork, touch around the rim, work on both backboards and ability to find teammates out of double teams make her a tough matchup every night. If the Zags keep shooting like they did a year ago, when they led the nation at 39.2% from three, that problem gets even harder for opponents.
The Becky Hammon Award list will be trimmed to 15 in January and then 10 in February. Five finalists will be announced in March, and the winner will be revealed around the time of the Final Four.
Gonzaga opens the season Monday, Nov. 2, at home against North Dakota State at 6:00 PM PT.
In Other News...
Davis Fogle Is Giving Gonzaga Fans A Bigger Debate Entering The Season
Davis Fogles rise is already giving Gonzaga fans something to chew on before the season even gets rolling. The Bulldogs forward landed on the 20-player watch list for the 2027 Julius Erving Award, the annual honor from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame that recognizes the top small forwards in Division I mens basketball, and it puts his name in the mix at a national level after being selected by a committee of college basketball personnel.
For Gonzaga, it is another reminder that the conversation around Fogle is only going to grow as the calendar turns. Fan voting opens on Oct. 30, and the award picture will keep tightening in the months ahead before the winner is chosen in late March 2027, so his name should stay in the spotlight for a while as the Bulldogs move into the new season. [Read more 🡒]