Los Angeles (April 3, 2013)— The John R. Wooden Award All American Team was announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club. Selected by hundreds of women’s college basketball media members from throughout the country, the All American team is made up of the five student-athletes who received the most votes, with voters ranking the players from 1 to 5.

All players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA, an important component of the Award insisted upon by Coach Wooden.  In addition to the academic aspect, the Wooden Award is unique among college postseason awards because voters could consider performance during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year will be announced at the 2013 Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s on April 12, 2013, at The Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Gala will honor the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, All Americans and the Legends of Coaching Award winner, Kansas Head Coach Bill Self.

This season, three of the five All Americans return to the team. Baylor senior Brittney Griner is a three-time Wooden All American who won the Award as a junior in 2012. Elena Delle Donne of Delaware and Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame also return to the Wooden All American team. Stanford junior forward Chiney Ogwumike attended last year’s event, when her sister, Nneka, was honored as a Wooden All American. The Ogwumikes join the Zeller brothers (Cody of Indiana U., Tyler of the U. of North Carolina) as the only sibling pairs to garner Wooden All American accolades.

Rounding out the team is Baylor point guard Odyssey Sims. Sims and Griner are the first pair of women’s players from the same college team to be chosen to the five player Wooden All American squad since Nneka Ogwumike and Jeanette Pohlen of Stanford were selected in 2011.

Of the five All Americans, only Diggins has advanced her team to this weekend’s Women’s Final Four in New Orleans.

About the John R. Wooden Award

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball.  It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.  Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Danny Manning (’88), TJ Ford (’03), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’09) and Maya Moore (’09 and ‘11).

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award’s name.   Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament.  The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Gala.

Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com or going to the Wooden Award facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward.  For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or via email at [email protected].

2012-13 John R. Wooden Award Women’s All American Team

Players listed alphabetically

# 2012 Wooden Award winner         $ 2012 Wooden All American          % 2011 Wooden All American