K-State’s Lee Nominated for 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year

MANHATTAN, Kansas (Kansas State Athletics) – K-State women’s basketball standout Ayoka Lee has been nominated for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year. Lee was selected by the Big 12 Senior Women’s Administrators for consideration for the honor and is among 53 nominees from conference offices at the Division I level.

The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose 10 nominees from each division to make up the national Top 30 honorees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in October. From there, the selection committee will narrow the pool to three finalists from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2022 Woman of the Year from the nine finalists.

At January’s NCAA Convention in San Antonio, the national Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced.

The NCAA Woman of the Year program is rooted in Title IX and has recognized graduating female college athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership since its inception in 1991. For more information about the program and previous winners, please visit ncaa.org/woty.

Lee adds the NCAA Woman of the Year nomination to her large collection of academic honors which includes: two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America honors (second team in 2021; first team in 2022), 2022 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors and received the 2021 Big 12/Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award.

Lee graduated in May of 2021 with her undergraduate degree in psychology and is currently pursuing her graduate degree in couples and family therapy. Lee is the second player in K-State women’s basketball history to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team, joining Laurie Koehn in 2004. Lee and Koehn are the only two-time recipients of CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in the history of the program.

On the court, Lee was a First Team All-American by The Athletic and Sports Illustrated, a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press and USBWA, a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-America Honorable Mention recipient, a finalist for the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award, a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection by the league’s coaches and garnered her first selection to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

Lee completed the 2021-22 season with career-highs in a number of statistical categories including points (727), points per game (22.0), field goals made and attempted (296-526), free throws made and attempted (135-175), rebounds (339), blocks (95), steals (39), assists (23) and double-doubles (20).

Lee was the only player in NCAA Division I women’s basketball in the 2021-22 season to register 725 or more points, 325 or more rebounds and 90 or more blocks. This was the first time in the 54-season history of K-State women’s basketball in which a player reached the statistical markers of 725 or more points, 325 or more rebounds and 90 or more blocks in a single-season.

With her scoring average of 22.0 points per game and total of 296 field goals made, Lee set the single-season school records for scoring average and field goals made. Her point total of 727 ranks second in school history for points in a season and set a school record for points in a junior season.

Lee was the first player in K-State women’s basketball history to average a double-double in at least two seasons, as she achieved the feat in her freshman season in 2019-20 and again in 2021-22.

As part of her 2021-22 statistical resume, Lee set the NCAA Division I single-game record of 61 points scored against Oklahoma on January 23. She also led the Big 12 for field goal percentage and a Big 12-high eight games with 30 or more points.

A two-time United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week recipient last season, Lee’s 339 rebounds established a new school record for rebounds in a season.

Lee, a four-time Big 12 Player of the Week selection and a three-time ESPN.com National Player of the Week honor, set the school record for double-doubles with 20. She became the sixth player in the history of the Big 12 to register 20 or more double-doubles in a season.

In Big 12 play, Lee led the league in field goal percentage (.555), 30-point games in league play (4), games with 10 or more rebounds (11) and double-doubles (11). She finished second in the Big 12 in scoring (21.89 ppg), rebounding (9.78 rpg) and blocked shots (2.4 bpg).

In her career, Lee ranks ninth in school history for points scored with 1,661, sixth for rebounds with 887, third for blocks with 235, sixth for field goals made with 665 and sixth for free throws made with 331. She is also second for double-doubles with 49.

Lee and the Wildcats will enter the 2022-23 season two wins shy of 1,000 in its history. Season tickets for the 2022-23 season are on sale now by calling (800) 221-CATS or by visiting kstatesports.com/tickets.