Tennessee women’s basketball redshirt junior Talaysia Cooper has been named to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watch List, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Monday afternoon.
Now in its 27th year, the Nancy Lieberman Award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates must exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman.
Cooper was on several national watch lists last season, including on midseason reports for the Wooden Award and Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy. She earned 2024-25 SEC Coaches All-Defensive Team accolades and Coaches and USA TODAY Sports Network All-SEC Second Team honors for her breakout effort as a college player. Cooper enters 2025-26 as a preseason All-SEC First Team pick by the coaches and a second team selection by the media.
The 6-foot guard from Turbeville, S.C., started 27 of 34 games for UT a year ago and averaged a team-leading 16.6 points, 3.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per contest. She was second for UT with 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and finished fourth in three-pointers made (36).
Cooper’s scoring average in 2024-25 tied her for ninth at Tennessee in career scoring average after one season, and she tied for sixth in a season all-time at UT, as well as No. 1 in the SEC and eighth nationally a year ago, with 105 steals. Her steals average of 3.088 ranked third in a season and second in a career all-time at UT while standing No. 1 in the SEC and No. 10 nationally in 2024-25. Additionally, she carded the third-most steals in a game ever by a Lady Vol, grabbing nine vs. Oklahoma.
Fans are encouraged to participate in fan voting in each of the three rounds starting on October 31. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the Nancy Lieberman Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Lieberman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where winners will be chosen. The Selection Committee for the Nancy Lieberman Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2026 Lieberman Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center).
For more information on the 2026 Nancy Lieberman Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #LiebermanAward on X and Instagram.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team on social media, follow @LadyVol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /BallWithTheLadyVols on Facebook.
