LOS ANGELES, Calif. (March 28, 2018) –The Los Angeles Athletic Club today announced the twelve outstanding Southern California high school boys’ and girls’ basketball players who will be awarded the 2018 John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award presented by Wells Fargo^®.  The boys’ winners are: CIF Los Angeles City Section, Kaelen Allen, Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets (Los Angeles); CIF Southern Section Division I, Onyeka Okongwu, Chino Hills High School (Chino Hills); CIF Southern Section Division II, Shareef O’Neal, Crossroads School (Santa Monica); CIF Southern Section Division III, Anthony Holland, Notre Dame High School (Riverside); CIF Southern Section Division IV, Chris Koon, Rolling Hills Preparatory High School (Torrance); CIF Southern Section Division V, Jordan Starr, Santa Clarita Christian School (Canyon Country).

The girls’ winners are: CIF Los Angeles City Section, Dawnyel Lair, Fairfax High School (Los Angeles); CIF Southern Section Division I, Charisma Osbourne, Windward High School (Los Angeles); CIF Southern Section Division II, Lola Pendande, Ribet Academy (Los Angeles); CIF Southern Section Division III, Julia Macabuhay, La Salle High School (Pasadena); CIF Southern Section Division IV, Destiny McAllister, Brentwood High School (Brentwood); CIF Southern Section Division V, Vanessa Smart, Hueneme High School (Oxnard).

All players will be presented their awards on April 6, 2018 in conjunction with the ESPN College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s, held at The Novo by Microsoft at LA Live. This year marks the 42^nd anniversary of the Wooden Award, and the high school winners will be honored along with the men’s and women’s Wooden All American teams and the Legends of Coaching honoree, Jay Wright of the Villanova University.

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 basketball player at an NCAA Division I university who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress towards graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07 & ’08), Maya Moore (’09 & ’11), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), and last year’s recipients, Kelsey Plum of Washington and Frank Mason III of Kansas.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.

For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.

###

2018 John R. Wooden Award
High School Players of the Year

Presented by Wells Fargo