Arizona forward Esmery Martinez makes Katrina McClain Award preseason watch list

It’s the time of year in women’s basketball for preseason watch lists. For the second year in a row Arizona forward Esmery Martinez has been named to the list for the Katrina McClain Award by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The award honors the best power forward in women’s college basketball. The preseason watch list consists of the top 20 power forwards going into the season, but players can be added to or dropped from the list later in the season. It’s one of five watch lists—one for each position—that the Hall of Fame releases each season.

Not only did Martinez make the preseason watch list ahead of her first season at Arizona last year, but she was still on it when it was pared down to 10 players later in the season. She joins Alissa Pili of Utah and Quay Miller of Colorado as this year’s representatives of the Pac-12.

Martinez finished third on the Wildcats in scoring last season with 10.5 points per game. She is the top returning scorer. She was Arizona’s leading rebounder with 8.6 boards per game. She also averaged 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. She shot 50.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point distance, and 71.2 percent from the line.