LOS ANGELES, CA (March 5, 2016) – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the 2016 National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award^® presented by Wendy’s^® on ESPN College GameDay today. 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. All balloted players have proven to their universities that they are making progress towards graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

Voting will take place from March 14th to March 21st, and voters, consisting of nearly 1,000 members of the national college basketball media, take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Fans may vote through the fan voting site, sponsored by Wendy’s, at www.woodenawardvote.com. The Wooden Award^™ All-American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, and the five finalists for the Wooden Award, widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show March 28^th on ESPNU at 8pm EST.

The 40^th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award^® to the men’s and women’s most outstanding basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy’s^® on ESPN2 on Friday, April 8th at 8pm (EST). The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All-American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2016 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy^™, which will be presented to Tubby Smith, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Texas Tech. No university is represented by more than one player. The Big Ten leads all conferences with four players on the final ballot, followed by the ACC and Big 12 with three each; the Big East with two; and the Pac-12, SEC and Horizon with one selection each.

Created in 1976, 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 proven to their respective universities that they are making progress toward graduation while maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. 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) and Doug McDermott (‘14). Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky won the 2015 men’s Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s and Breanna Stewart of Connecticut won the 2015 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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John R. Wooden Award Men’s 2016 National Ballot

# indicates player selected as a 2014-15 Wooden Award All-American