Brooks, Pierre Land on Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Watchlist
10/30/2025 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH – Two NC State women's basketball student-athletes have landed a spot on the 2025-26 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watchlist presented by AXIA Time. The tandem is two of 50 on the preseason watchlist for the award given to the best women's college basketball player in the country.
NC State is one of 12 schools with multiple players on the watchlist and two of 10 players who represent the ACC.
Brooks earns a spot on this watchlist for the first time in her career, as she enters her third year with the Wolfpack. With several preseason accolades, Brooks has been tabbed to the All-ACC Preseason Team and is one of 20 on the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Preseason Watchlist. She was also ranked No. 16 on ESPN's list of the top women's college basketball players entering the 2025-26 season.
The point guard is coming off the 2024-25 season having averaged 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. She was awarded on the All-ACC First Team and became the first player in program history to be awarded as the ACC Most Improved Player. The point guard was also named to the WBCA All-America Honorable Mention team. Last season, Brooks logged 28 double-digit scoring games, four 20-point games, one 30-point game and two double-doubles, while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 75.6 percent from the free throw line.
In the Pack's preseason game against No. 10 Maryland, Brooks logged a team-high 20 points with seven rebounds, three assists and five steals.
Pierre has also been receiving preseason love, as she was also tabbed to the All-ACC Preseason Team and is ranked No. 22 on ESPN's list of top women's college basketball players going into the 2025-26 campaign. She was on the Naismith Player of the Year midseason team for this award last season.
At Vanderbilt as a sophomore, Pierre averaged a career-best 20.4 points per game off 49.8 percent shooting with 9.6 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. Her scoring average ranked fourth in the SEC and 19th in the country, while her steals average and rebounds averages were second and third in the league, respectively. She was a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection and a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Player of the Year last season.
Pierre broke a then-Vanderbilt single-game scoring record with 42 points, 18 rebounds and eight steals against Evansville. She logged 17 double-doubles, 31 double-digit scoring games, 16 20-point games and two 30-point contests. In her unofficial Wolfpack debuts, Pierre registered eight points, eight rebounds and two steals against High Point and 16 points and six rebounds vs. No. 10 Maryland.
The watchlist will be trimmed to 30 players in mid-February and the semifinalists will be followed with an announcement thereafter. The finalists will be announced during the Women's Final Four.
NC State will officially open the season against No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tickets for the game can be purchased HERE.