LOS ANGELES, CA (March 4, 2017) – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the 2017 National Ballot for the  John R. Wooden Award^® Presented by Wendy’s^® today on ESPNW. Selected by the Wooden Award^™ National Advisory Board, the list is comprised of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and one shall receive the Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States. 

On the Wooden Award National Ballot, Connecticut leads all universities with three selections: Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams. Three other teams have a pair of players on the ballot: Maryland (Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough), Notre Dame (Lindsay Allen and Brianna Turner), and Washington (Chantel Osahor and Kelsey Plum). The Pac-12 leads all conferences with four selections on the National Ballot, followed by the ACC, The American, and the Big Ten with three apiece, and the SEC with two.

All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award. The qualifications include: candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be a full-time student making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates should contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.

Voting will take place from March 14th to March 21^st, and voters, consisting of hundreds of members of the national women’s college basketball media, take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, and the finalists for the Wooden Award, widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show March 27^th on ESPN at 8pm EST.

The 41^st annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men’s and women’s most outstanding college basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s on ESPN2 on Friday, April 7, 2017. The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2017 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to Muffet McGraw, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Notre Dame.

About the John R. Wooden Award

Created in 1976 by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, the John R. Wooden Award® program features the most prestigious individual honors in college basketball. The Wooden Award Trophy is bestowed annually upon the nation’s best male and female player, who have met the selection criteria as set forth by the Award’s creators. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (‘79), Michael Jordan (‘84), Tim Duncan (‘97), Candace Parker (‘07 and ‘08), Kevin Durant (‘07), Maya Moore (‘09 and ’11), Trey Burke (’13), Doug McDermott (‘14), Frank Kaminsky (’15). Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield won the 2016 men’s Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s and Breanna Stewart of Connecticut won the 2016 women’s Wooden Award.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award® has contributed close to a million dollars to the general scholarship fund of the honoree’s University in the name of the All-American recipient. The Award has also enabled more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long basketball camps in the Award’s name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament takes place at the Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award® presentation, and brings together Special Olympics athletes and the Wooden Award All-Americans.

Fans can follow the candidates en route to the Wooden Award presentation and get the latest news by liking the Wooden Award Facebook page or following @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact Ernest Baskerville at (213) 630-5231 or via email at [email protected].

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