LOS ANGELES, Calif. (November 7, 2024) – The Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, announced its Preseason Top 50 Watch List on www.WoodenAward.com. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front- runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American TeamTM and Most Outstanding Player Award.

Two-time Wooden Award All AmericanTM Hunter Dickinson (Kansas in 2024 & Michigan in 2021) headlines the Preseason Top 50, along with RJ Davis (UNC in 2024) and Caleb Love (Arizona in 2024). Kansas leads all schools with four students on the Wooden Watch List: KJ Adams, Dickinson, Dejuan Harris, and AJ Storr. Two schools lead with three selections on the Preseason Top 50: Alabama (Grant Nelson, Cliff Omoruyi, and Mark Sears) and Baylor (VJ Edgecomb, Norchad Omier, and Jeremy Roach). Several other schools boast multiple players on the list: Connecticut (Alex Karaban and Liam McNeeley), Gonzaga (Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard), Houston (L.J. Cryer and J’Wan Roberts) and Rutgers (Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper).

Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 41 are upperclassmen, including 22 seniors & 19 juniors, and two are graduate students. Two sophomores were named to the list and the recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with five named to the Preseason Top 50.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award® Men’s Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award® midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award®. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during Tournament early round games. The Wooden Award All American TeamTM will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, will be presented at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in April.

About the John R. Wooden Award®

Created in 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award ProgramTM hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All AmericaTM Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award® Legend of Coaching recipient. Wooden Award® All Americans have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award® as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award® Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07; ’08), Maya Moore (’09; ’11), Breanna Stewart (’15; ’16), and the last two year’s (’23 &’24) recipients, Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Zach Edey of Purdue.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award® has made charitable gifts of nearly one million dollars 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 basketball day. The event 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.

The Wooden Award® Legends of Coaching honoree for 2025 is Mark Few of Gonzaga who will be presented his honor along with the Wooden Award® Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 11, 2025. For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award®, please go to http://www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award® on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.

For more information on Principal Financial Group and its' sponsorship activities, visit: Principal Sports partnerships and sponsorships. For more information on the Los Angeles Athletic Club visit: www.LAAC.com