October 28, 2026 | Women's Basketball
HOPEWELL, N.J. – Missouri State women's basketball guard Kaemyn Bekemeier has been named to the Preseason Watch List for the 2027 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, Her Hoop Stats announced today.
The preseason watch list consists of 25 players representing 21 teams and 16 conferences. Bekemeier is the sole representative from Conference USA on the list.
Bekemeier is coming off an outstanding junior season in which she averaged 17.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game to lead her squad and rank second and fourth, respectively, in Conference USA. During the 2025-26 campaign, she pulled down the fourth-most rebounds (295) and scored the eighth-most points (627) in program history and ranked No. 2 in the nation in rebounds by a player 5-foot-9 or under. Likewise, she became the 32nd player in program history to score 1,000 career points and now sits at No. 24 on the Lady Bears all-time scoring list with 1,154.
The Republic, Mo., native, who was a first-team all-conference selection a year ago and is the reigning Conference USA Tournament MVP, was also selected as CUSA's Preseason Player of the Year earlier this month. She logged 32 double-figure scoring performances, 15 20-point performances, 11 double-figure rebounding games and 10 double-doubles in last year's breakout campaign.
The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, and South Dakota State's Brooklyn Meyer won the most recent award in 2026.
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in a conference deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Players competing in the re-formed Pac-12 are eligible.
The 15-player midseason watch list will be announced in January, followed by 10 semifinalists announced in February. The five finalists will be announced in early March, with the winner announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid, and players may play their way on or off it over the course of the season.
Missouri State women's basketball will host an exhibition game against Missouri Southern later tonight (Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m.), before welcoming Southeast Missouri State for the season opener on Monday, Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m. inside Great Southern Bank Arena.
The preseason watch list consists of 25 players representing 21 teams and 16 conferences. Bekemeier is the sole representative from Conference USA on the list.
Bekemeier is coming off an outstanding junior season in which she averaged 17.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game to lead her squad and rank second and fourth, respectively, in Conference USA. During the 2025-26 campaign, she pulled down the fourth-most rebounds (295) and scored the eighth-most points (627) in program history and ranked No. 2 in the nation in rebounds by a player 5-foot-9 or under. Likewise, she became the 32nd player in program history to score 1,000 career points and now sits at No. 24 on the Lady Bears all-time scoring list with 1,154.
The Republic, Mo., native, who was a first-team all-conference selection a year ago and is the reigning Conference USA Tournament MVP, was also selected as CUSA's Preseason Player of the Year earlier this month. She logged 32 double-figure scoring performances, 15 20-point performances, 11 double-figure rebounding games and 10 double-doubles in last year's breakout campaign.
The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, and South Dakota State's Brooklyn Meyer won the most recent award in 2026.
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in a conference deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Players competing in the re-formed Pac-12 are eligible.
The 15-player midseason watch list will be announced in January, followed by 10 semifinalists announced in February. The five finalists will be announced in early March, with the winner announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid, and players may play their way on or off it over the course of the season.
Missouri State women's basketball will host an exhibition game against Missouri Southern later tonight (Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m.), before welcoming Southeast Missouri State for the season opener on Monday, Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m. inside Great Southern Bank Arena.
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