Washington's Tilda Trygger has earned a second consecutive place on the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year preseason watchlist, putting the junior among 20 candidates for the national women's basketball honor. UW announced the selection on October 30, 2026. For Huskies fans, it is recognition of the experience Trygger brings to her first Washington season—not a finalist designation or an award victory.
A returning candidate in a new uniform
The Lisa Leslie award recognizes the top center in NCAA Division I women's basketball. Although UW's roster lists Trygger as a forward, the university's announcement identifies her as a center for this award. The 6-foot-6 junior from Stockholm, Sweden, arrives with a record established at NC State.
That distinction matters when reading her preseason résumé: last season's statistics describe her work with the Wolfpack, not a previous season with Washington. Her official UW biography also lists a place on the award's midseason top-10 watchlist in 2025–26, giving this year's preseason selection some continuity beyond a single announcement.
The production behind the recognition
UW's release reports that Trygger averaged seven rebounds and one block per game in 2025–26. She finished with 14 double-digit scoring games, six double-digit rebounding games and five double-doubles. Those figures show contributions across scoring and rebounding rather than recognition built around one standout night.
Her shooting adds another dimension. The announcement gives her field-goal percentage as 52% and her three-point percentage as 34%. Those percentages alone do not establish her shot volume or how Washington will use her, but they describe a player whose offensive résumé includes attempts beyond the paint.
The biography supplies a concrete example of her scoring ceiling: a career-high 25 points against Boston College on January 29, on 10-for-14 shooting, with six rebounds. That performance belongs to her NC State sophomore season. It is useful background for understanding the nomination, not a prediction of what she will produce for UW.
February and March bring the next cuts
The October announcement is the beginning of the selection process. UW says the field will narrow to 10 candidates in February and five finalists in March, and announced October 30 as the start of fan voting. The official awards website provides award information and a women's voting link.
A Missouri Valley Conference release listing the full field also identifies Trygger as a Washington candidate and says players can move onto or off the list during the season. The preseason group therefore is not a closed ballot or a ranking of the eventual finalists.
A separate honor from Howell's selection
Trygger's nomination adds a frontcourt award candidate alongside the previously covered Avery Howell Ann Meyers Drysdale watchlist selection. Howell's award concerns shooting guards; Trygger's concerns centers. Each recognition is individual and position-specific, rather than a forecast of Washington's team finish.
This original staff summary credits UW Athletic Communications and its October 30 University of Washington Athletics release, with background from UW's player biography and selection-process corroboration from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Cover photo is illustrative basketball photography, not a photograph of the reported event.