LOS ANGELES – Graduate transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker is coming to Westwood. The three-time All-Pac-12 student-athlete joins the Bruins, officially signing with UCLA Women’s Basketball.
The Waikato, New Zealand native finished her undergraduate career in the top five in career points (1,743 – 3rd), assists (389 – 4th), made threes (199) and minutes played (3,794) in Washington State’s record books.
Leger-Walker was the 2020-21 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and has racked up nine Pac-12 Player or Freshman of the Week awards in her career. Prior to her season-ending injury in January, the guard started in 21 games for the Cougs and recorded two triple-doubles in her senior campaign. She averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.3 minutes per game.
Coach’s Corner
“Charlisse Leger-Walker was projected as a top five WNBA pick before she got injured, so to say I’m thrilled to add her to our roster would be an understatement,” said the Michael Price Family UCLA Women’s Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. “I think she is the perfect complimentary piece to our backcourt. Her knowledge of the game, her leadership skills, her versatility, her poise – it all lends her to being the perfect fit for our team moving forward.”
Prior to UCLA…
at Washington State
2023-24 | Senior
All-Pac-12 (Coaches & Media) … Aurthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year Second Runner-Up … Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Top-10 Finalist … Seattle Sports Star Awards Woman of the Year Finalist … Jersey Mike’s Naismith National Player of the Year Award Midseason Top-30 Finalist … John Wooden Award Top-50 Watch List … Cancun Challenge Tournament MVP … Preseason All-Pac-12 … Started in 21 games for the Cougars before a season-ending knee injury at UCLA (Jan. 28) … recorded two triple-doubles, her first in her collegiate career … first was 11 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists against Maryland (Nov. 23) … second was 15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists against Houston (Dec. 17) … became just second player in program history to record a triple-double after Penny Bowden also had her only two triple-doubles in the 1987-88 season … averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.3 minutes per game … shot 40.6 percent from the field … scored a season-high 26 points against Gonzaga (Nov. 9) … her 15 rebounds and 13 assists against Maryland (11/23) were both career-highs … surpassed the 1,500 career points scored and 3,500 career minutes played in her final season with the Cougs … in the program’s all-time career record books, finished third in career points (1,743), fourth in points per game (16.6), fifth in made field goals (607), second in made threes (199), fifth in made free throws (330), fourth in assists (389), T-10th in double-doubles (11), ninth in games started (105) and third in minutes played (3,794).
2022-23 | Junior
Associated Press All-American – Honorable Mention … WBCA All-American – Honorable Mention … CSC Academic All-American – Second Team … 2023 Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player … All-Pac-12 (Coaches & Media) … All-Pac-12 Defensive Team – Honorable Mention… Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Top-10 Finalist … Jersey Mike’s Naismith National Player of the Year Award Midseason Top-30 Finalist … Pac-12 Player of the Week – Nov. 14 … Started in all 30 games she appeared in as a junior … Became the third WSU player to score 40 points in a game, as she had a career-high 40-point performance at Washington (Dec. 11) … Leger-Walker’s 40-point performance at Washington ties her with Jeanne Eggart for the second-most points scored in a game in Washington State history, just one-point shy of Jenni Ruff’s program record of 41 points … Led the team in scoring for the third-straight season at 17.7 points per game … Leger-Walker’s 17.7 points per game ranked third-best in the Pac-12 Conference and was the 40th best scoring average in NCAA Division I … Her 4.1 assists per game led the team and were the second-best assist per game average in the Pac-12 … Shot a career-best 40.3 percent from the field during her junior season … Leger-Walker’s 68 3-point field goals made led the team and ranked fifth in the Pac-12 … Leger-Walker’s 68 3-point field goals made ranks fourth on WSU’s single-season 3-point field goals made list … Shot a career-best 34.9 percent on 3-point shots … Scored her 1,000th career point at Washington State against Prairie View A&M (Nov. 13) … Tied Jeanne Eggart for the fastest to 1,000 career points at Washington State, accomplishing the feat in 57 games … Moved into the top-10 on WSU’s all-time scoring list this season, as Leger-Walker currently sits in ninth place on the all-time scoring list with 1,465 career points … Scored 530 points this season to become the ninth WSU player in program history to score 500 or more points in a season … Her 530 points scored in 2022-23 are the ninth-most points scored in a single season by a WSU player … Leger-Walker’s 27 games with double-digit points are the fourth-most double-digit scoring games collected by a junior in program history … Had five games where she hit five or more 3-point field goals … Hit a career-best seven 3-poitnt field goals in her 40-point performance at Washington (Dec. 11), which is tied for the second-most 3-point field goals made in a game in program history … Leger-Walker began the season on a 16-game double-digit scoring streak, which is the fourth-longest scoring streak posted by a junior in program history … Scored 20 or more points in 11 games this season, which is the fifth-most 20-point games collected by a junior in WSU history … Scored 35 points at San Francisco (Nov. 11) … Leger-Walker is one of three players to have a 35-point and a 40-point scoring performance during the 2022-23 season … Collected two double-doubles on the year, posting her first one with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort at No. 25/25 Colorado then had a 17-point, 10-rebound performance in the double-overtime loss at Southern California (Feb. 25) in the regular season finale … Named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament after scoring a Pac-12 Tournament record 76 points in four games to help Washington State win the program’s first-ever Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Championship … Scored a game-high 23 points in the Pac-12 Championship game win over UCLA (March 5) en route to becoming the first WSU player in program history to be named Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player … Named to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll.
2021-22 | Sophomore
WBCA All-American – Honorable Mention … 2021-22 All-Pac-12 … 2021-22 Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Top-10 Finalist … Pac-12 Player of the Week – Dec. 12 … 2021-22 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List … 2021-22 John. R. Wooden Award Player of the Year Preseason Watch List … Finished second in the Pac-12 in total points scored with 483 … Had 11 games with 20-or-more points, which led the Pac-12 … Named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Dec. 13 after averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists in a pair of come-from-behind wins at Gonzaga (51-49) on Dec. 8 and at home against Boise State (62-55) on Dec. 12 … Her 16.1 points per game lead the team and was the fourth-highest scoring average in the Pac-12 … Finished second in the Pac-12 in field goals made with 176 … Scored a career-high 30 points in a win at Colorado on Feb. 4 … Her 1,080 minutes played led the Pac-12, while her 36.00 minutes per game tied for first in the Pac-12 … Pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in the Bahamas in a win over Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 25 … Recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds against Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 25 … Dished out three-or-more assists in 15 games … Handed out a season-best seven assists on March. 3 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament vs. Utah … Finished second on the team in 3-point field goals made with 52 … Made a career-high six 3-point field goals at BYU on Dec. 18 … Her 25 blocks were the second-most on the team … Collected a career-best four blocks on Feb. 6 at Utah … Led the team in free throw percentage at 76.0 percent … Named to the 2022 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll.
2020-21 | Freshman
2020-21 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year … WBCA All-American – Honorable Mention … USBWA All-American – Honorable Mention … 2020-21 All-Pac-12 Team … 2020-21 All-Pac-12 Freshman Team … 7x Pac-12 Freshman of the Week … Named the 17th best player on ESPN’s Top-25 Players list for the 2021-22 season … Became the 22nd player in Pac-12 history to be named to both the All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 Freshman teams … Named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week a program-record seven times … Named the USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week on Jan. 11 after scoring the game-tying and game-winning baskets against No. 7/10 Arizona on Jan. 10 … Started in all 24 games as a true freshman … Finished the regular season as the top points scorer in the Pac-12 with 434 points … Led the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game and steals at 2.3 steals per game … Finished second in the Pac-12 in free throws made (103) free throws attempted (131) and minutes played (908:49) … Ranked third in the Pac-12 in steals (54), steals per game (2.25), 3-point field goal attempts (174) field goal attempts (414) and fifth in field goals made (46) and 3-point field goals made (57) … Scored a career-high 29 points in three different games, the first coming on Dec. 13 against Idaho, then again on Jan. 15 at USC and once more on Feb. 14 at Arizona State … Collected two double-doubles on the year … Became the first WSU freshman to ever post a double-double via points and assists with 16 points and 10 assists at Colorado on Jan. 3 … The 10 assists handed out against the Buffaloes ties Leger-Walker with four other players for the second-most assists by a Washington State freshman in a single game … Set the program’s single-game record for most field goals in a game with 29 field goal attempts in the double-overtime win at Oregon State on Jan. 24 … Tied the program’s single-game record for most 3-point field goal attempts with 14 shots from behind the arc in at Oregon on Jan. 22 … Her 37.9 minutes per game is the highest minutes-per-game average by a player in a single season in WSU history … Set the WSU freshman single-game record for most minutes played on Jan. 24 in double-overtime win at Oregon State, playing a career-high 47 minutes … Set a WSU freshman record for most 20-point games with 12 … Her 18.8 points per game a Washington State freshman record for highest scoring average … Her 103 free throws are the most made by a freshman in program history … Her 78.6 percent success rate from the charity stripe is the second-highest free throw percentage by a WSU freshman … Set the Washington State freshman record for most free throws made in a game with 10, a mark she hit twice during the season. The first 10-free-throw performance came in her WSU debut at Washington on Dec. 11 then against on Feb. 5 in a win over No. 5/4 UCLA.
New Zealand National Program
Leger-Walker is the youngest player to ever lace up for the New Zealand women’s national basketball team, having joined the Tall Ferns at just 16 years old … Played for New Zealand at the 2021 FIBA Women’s Basketball Asia Cup, along side her sister and fellow Coug, Krystal …Was the youngest player at the FIBA Women’s Basketball Asia Cup …. Finished second on the Tall Ferns in points (11.0 ppg) and assists (3.0 asp) at the Asia Cup … … In 2018, she helped her homeland win bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia … More recently, she played for New Zealand at the 2019 Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Asia-Oceania Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. The guard scored eight points and dished out seven assists in a win over the Philippines and helped the Tall Ferns post a 2-1 record in the tournament … In June of 2019, Leger-Walker was named to the World All-Star 3 team after leading New Zealand to a silver-medal finish at the U18 3×3 World Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It marked the first time any female team from New Zealand has won a medal at a FIBA-sanctioned World tournament.
Prior to Washington State…
High School
Leger-Walker led her high school, St. Peter’s School Cambridge, to four New Zealand National High School Championships … Earned team MVP honors four times … In April of 2019, she guided St. Peter’s to a fifth-place finish at the International School Sport Federation (ISF) World Championships in Greece, a tournament that features the best prep schools throughout the world … Leger-Walker’s play at the 2019 ISF World Championships earned her a spot on the World All-Star Five.
Personal
Charlisse is the daughter of Eliu and Leanne … Mother was a member of the Tall Ferns and played in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics … Has two sisters, Krystal who played for Washington State women’s basketball team from 2019-21, and Tannika. … Played netball and touch rugby at St. Peter’s Cambrige, and won a National Championship in netball during her senior season … Born on September 15 … Majoring in Business.
The Waikato, New Zealand native finished her undergraduate career in the top five in career points (1,743 – 3rd), assists (389 – 4th), made threes (199) and minutes played (3,794) in Washington State’s record books.
Leger-Walker was the 2020-21 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and has racked up nine Pac-12 Player or Freshman of the Week awards in her career. Prior to her season-ending injury in January, the guard started in 21 games for the Cougs and recorded two triple-doubles in her senior campaign. She averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.3 minutes per game.
Coach’s Corner
“Charlisse Leger-Walker was projected as a top five WNBA pick before she got injured, so to say I’m thrilled to add her to our roster would be an understatement,” said the Michael Price Family UCLA Women’s Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. “I think she is the perfect complimentary piece to our backcourt. Her knowledge of the game, her leadership skills, her versatility, her poise – it all lends her to being the perfect fit for our team moving forward.”
Prior to UCLA…
at Washington State
2023-24 | Senior
All-Pac-12 (Coaches & Media) … Aurthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year Second Runner-Up … Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Top-10 Finalist … Seattle Sports Star Awards Woman of the Year Finalist … Jersey Mike’s Naismith National Player of the Year Award Midseason Top-30 Finalist … John Wooden Award Top-50 Watch List … Cancun Challenge Tournament MVP … Preseason All-Pac-12 … Started in 21 games for the Cougars before a season-ending knee injury at UCLA (Jan. 28) … recorded two triple-doubles, her first in her collegiate career … first was 11 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists against Maryland (Nov. 23) … second was 15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists against Houston (Dec. 17) … became just second player in program history to record a triple-double after Penny Bowden also had her only two triple-doubles in the 1987-88 season … averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.3 minutes per game … shot 40.6 percent from the field … scored a season-high 26 points against Gonzaga (Nov. 9) … her 15 rebounds and 13 assists against Maryland (11/23) were both career-highs … surpassed the 1,500 career points scored and 3,500 career minutes played in her final season with the Cougs … in the program’s all-time career record books, finished third in career points (1,743), fourth in points per game (16.6), fifth in made field goals (607), second in made threes (199), fifth in made free throws (330), fourth in assists (389), T-10th in double-doubles (11), ninth in games started (105) and third in minutes played (3,794).
2022-23 | Junior
Associated Press All-American – Honorable Mention … WBCA All-American – Honorable Mention … CSC Academic All-American – Second Team … 2023 Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player … All-Pac-12 (Coaches & Media) … All-Pac-12 Defensive Team – Honorable Mention… Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Top-10 Finalist … Jersey Mike’s Naismith National Player of the Year Award Midseason Top-30 Finalist … Pac-12 Player of the Week – Nov. 14 … Started in all 30 games she appeared in as a junior … Became the third WSU player to score 40 points in a game, as she had a career-high 40-point performance at Washington (Dec. 11) … Leger-Walker’s 40-point performance at Washington ties her with Jeanne Eggart for the second-most points scored in a game in Washington State history, just one-point shy of Jenni Ruff’s program record of 41 points … Led the team in scoring for the third-straight season at 17.7 points per game … Leger-Walker’s 17.7 points per game ranked third-best in the Pac-12 Conference and was the 40th best scoring average in NCAA Division I … Her 4.1 assists per game led the team and were the second-best assist per game average in the Pac-12 … Shot a career-best 40.3 percent from the field during her junior season … Leger-Walker’s 68 3-point field goals made led the team and ranked fifth in the Pac-12 … Leger-Walker’s 68 3-point field goals made ranks fourth on WSU’s single-season 3-point field goals made list … Shot a career-best 34.9 percent on 3-point shots … Scored her 1,000th career point at Washington State against Prairie View A&M (Nov. 13) … Tied Jeanne Eggart for the fastest to 1,000 career points at Washington State, accomplishing the feat in 57 games … Moved into the top-10 on WSU’s all-time scoring list this season, as Leger-Walker currently sits in ninth place on the all-time scoring list with 1,465 career points … Scored 530 points this season to become the ninth WSU player in program history to score 500 or more points in a season … Her 530 points scored in 2022-23 are the ninth-most points scored in a single season by a WSU player … Leger-Walker’s 27 games with double-digit points are the fourth-most double-digit scoring games collected by a junior in program history … Had five games where she hit five or more 3-point field goals … Hit a career-best seven 3-poitnt field goals in her 40-point performance at Washington (Dec. 11), which is tied for the second-most 3-point field goals made in a game in program history … Leger-Walker began the season on a 16-game double-digit scoring streak, which is the fourth-longest scoring streak posted by a junior in program history … Scored 20 or more points in 11 games this season, which is the fifth-most 20-point games collected by a junior in WSU history … Scored 35 points at San Francisco (Nov. 11) … Leger-Walker is one of three players to have a 35-point and a 40-point scoring performance during the 2022-23 season … Collected two double-doubles on the year, posting her first one with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort at No. 25/25 Colorado then had a 17-point, 10-rebound performance in the double-overtime loss at Southern California (Feb. 25) in the regular season finale … Named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament after scoring a Pac-12 Tournament record 76 points in four games to help Washington State win the program’s first-ever Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Championship … Scored a game-high 23 points in the Pac-12 Championship game win over UCLA (March 5) en route to becoming the first WSU player in program history to be named Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player … Named to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll.
2021-22 | Sophomore
WBCA All-American – Honorable Mention … 2021-22 All-Pac-12 … 2021-22 Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Top-10 Finalist … Pac-12 Player of the Week – Dec. 12 … 2021-22 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List … 2021-22 John. R. Wooden Award Player of the Year Preseason Watch List … Finished second in the Pac-12 in total points scored with 483 … Had 11 games with 20-or-more points, which led the Pac-12 … Named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Dec. 13 after averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists in a pair of come-from-behind wins at Gonzaga (51-49) on Dec. 8 and at home against Boise State (62-55) on Dec. 12 … Her 16.1 points per game lead the team and was the fourth-highest scoring average in the Pac-12 … Finished second in the Pac-12 in field goals made with 176 … Scored a career-high 30 points in a win at Colorado on Feb. 4 … Her 1,080 minutes played led the Pac-12, while her 36.00 minutes per game tied for first in the Pac-12 … Pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in the Bahamas in a win over Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 25 … Recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds against Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 25 … Dished out three-or-more assists in 15 games … Handed out a season-best seven assists on March. 3 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament vs. Utah … Finished second on the team in 3-point field goals made with 52 … Made a career-high six 3-point field goals at BYU on Dec. 18 … Her 25 blocks were the second-most on the team … Collected a career-best four blocks on Feb. 6 at Utah … Led the team in free throw percentage at 76.0 percent … Named to the 2022 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll.
2020-21 | Freshman
2020-21 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year … WBCA All-American – Honorable Mention … USBWA All-American – Honorable Mention … 2020-21 All-Pac-12 Team … 2020-21 All-Pac-12 Freshman Team … 7x Pac-12 Freshman of the Week … Named the 17th best player on ESPN’s Top-25 Players list for the 2021-22 season … Became the 22nd player in Pac-12 history to be named to both the All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 Freshman teams … Named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week a program-record seven times … Named the USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week on Jan. 11 after scoring the game-tying and game-winning baskets against No. 7/10 Arizona on Jan. 10 … Started in all 24 games as a true freshman … Finished the regular season as the top points scorer in the Pac-12 with 434 points … Led the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game and steals at 2.3 steals per game … Finished second in the Pac-12 in free throws made (103) free throws attempted (131) and minutes played (908:49) … Ranked third in the Pac-12 in steals (54), steals per game (2.25), 3-point field goal attempts (174) field goal attempts (414) and fifth in field goals made (46) and 3-point field goals made (57) … Scored a career-high 29 points in three different games, the first coming on Dec. 13 against Idaho, then again on Jan. 15 at USC and once more on Feb. 14 at Arizona State … Collected two double-doubles on the year … Became the first WSU freshman to ever post a double-double via points and assists with 16 points and 10 assists at Colorado on Jan. 3 … The 10 assists handed out against the Buffaloes ties Leger-Walker with four other players for the second-most assists by a Washington State freshman in a single game … Set the program’s single-game record for most field goals in a game with 29 field goal attempts in the double-overtime win at Oregon State on Jan. 24 … Tied the program’s single-game record for most 3-point field goal attempts with 14 shots from behind the arc in at Oregon on Jan. 22 … Her 37.9 minutes per game is the highest minutes-per-game average by a player in a single season in WSU history … Set the WSU freshman single-game record for most minutes played on Jan. 24 in double-overtime win at Oregon State, playing a career-high 47 minutes … Set a WSU freshman record for most 20-point games with 12 … Her 18.8 points per game a Washington State freshman record for highest scoring average … Her 103 free throws are the most made by a freshman in program history … Her 78.6 percent success rate from the charity stripe is the second-highest free throw percentage by a WSU freshman … Set the Washington State freshman record for most free throws made in a game with 10, a mark she hit twice during the season. The first 10-free-throw performance came in her WSU debut at Washington on Dec. 11 then against on Feb. 5 in a win over No. 5/4 UCLA.
New Zealand National Program
Leger-Walker is the youngest player to ever lace up for the New Zealand women’s national basketball team, having joined the Tall Ferns at just 16 years old … Played for New Zealand at the 2021 FIBA Women’s Basketball Asia Cup, along side her sister and fellow Coug, Krystal …Was the youngest player at the FIBA Women’s Basketball Asia Cup …. Finished second on the Tall Ferns in points (11.0 ppg) and assists (3.0 asp) at the Asia Cup … … In 2018, she helped her homeland win bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia … More recently, she played for New Zealand at the 2019 Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Asia-Oceania Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. The guard scored eight points and dished out seven assists in a win over the Philippines and helped the Tall Ferns post a 2-1 record in the tournament … In June of 2019, Leger-Walker was named to the World All-Star 3 team after leading New Zealand to a silver-medal finish at the U18 3×3 World Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It marked the first time any female team from New Zealand has won a medal at a FIBA-sanctioned World tournament.
Prior to Washington State…
High School
Leger-Walker led her high school, St. Peter’s School Cambridge, to four New Zealand National High School Championships … Earned team MVP honors four times … In April of 2019, she guided St. Peter’s to a fifth-place finish at the International School Sport Federation (ISF) World Championships in Greece, a tournament that features the best prep schools throughout the world … Leger-Walker’s play at the 2019 ISF World Championships earned her a spot on the World All-Star Five.
Personal
Charlisse is the daughter of Eliu and Leanne … Mother was a member of the Tall Ferns and played in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics … Has two sisters, Krystal who played for Washington State women’s basketball team from 2019-21, and Tannika. … Played netball and touch rugby at St. Peter’s Cambrige, and won a National Championship in netball during her senior season … Born on September 15 … Majoring in Business.