MACOMB, IL. – Western Illinois women's basketball fifth-year forward Mia Nicastro continues to receive national recognition after being named to the 2027 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.

Nicastro is one of 25 players from 21 programs and 16 conferences selected to the watch list, placing her among the top returning players in mid-major women's basketball.

The honor follows an outstanding 2025-26 season in which Nicastro established herself as one of the top players in the country. She averaged 24.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, helping lead the Leathernecks to a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship and the program's first OVC Tournament title.

Her season earned her OVC Player of the Year, OVC Female Athlete of the Year and First Team All-OVC honors. She was also named one of five finalists for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, becoming the first player in program history to reach that stage.

Nicastro finished the season fourth nationally in scoring, recording 16 double-doubles while playing a major role in Western Illinois earning its first NCAA Tournament appearance since joining the OVC.

The Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award recognizes the top player in NCAA Division I women's basketball competing outside the traditional high-major conferences. The award is named after former WNBA All-Star and current Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon.

The watch list will be narrowed to 15 players in January, followed by 10 semifinalists and five finalists later in the season.

Western Illinois opens the 2026-27 season looking to build on last year's championship run, with Nicastro returning for her fifth season as one of the leaders of the Leatherneck lineup.

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