John R. Wooden Award Presented By Wendy's Announces 2020-21 Women's Late Season Top 20 Watch List



John R. Wooden Award Presented By Wendy's Announces 2020-21 Women's Late Season Top 20 Watch List

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (February 1, 2021) – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® Late Season Top 20 Watch List today on ESPNU. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2020-21 season thus far, the list comprises of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.

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On the 2021 Wooden Award™ Late Season Top 20, Natasha Mack of Oklahoma State makes her debut on the Wooden Watch™. Three schools have multiple players on the list: Connecticut (Paige Bueckers and Olivia Nelson-Ododa), South Carolina (Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke) and Stanford (Haley Jonesl and Kiana Williams).

The SEC leads all conferences with six selections on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, followed by the Big 12 and Pac-12 with four each, and the ACC, Big East, and Big Ten with two selections apiece. 

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the late season list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ 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 early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.

 

 

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Wooden Award

Presented by Wendy’s

2020-21 Late Season Top 20

Name

School

Conference

Height

Class

Position

Aliyah Boston

South Carolina

SEC

6-5

Soph

F

Paige Bueckers

Connecticut

Big East

5-11

Fr.

G

Charli Collier

Texas

Big 12

6-5

Jr.

F/C

Zia Cooke

South Carolina

SEC

5-9

Soph

G

Elissa Cunane

NC State

ACC

6-5

Jr.

C

Rennia Davis

Tennessee

SEC

6-2

Sr.

G/F

Chelsea Dungee

Arkansas

SEC

5-11

Sr.

G

Dana Evans

Louisville

ACC

5-6

Sr.

G

Arella Guirantes

Rutgers

Big Ten

5-11

Sr.

G

Naz Hillmon

Michigan

Big Ten

6-2

Jr.

F

Rhyne Howard*

Kentucky

SEC

6-2

Jr.

G

Rickea Jackson

Mississippi State

SEC

6-2

Soph

F

Ashley Joens

Iowa State

Big 12

6-0

Jr.

G/F

Haley Jones

Stanford

Pac-12

6-1

Soph

G

Natasha Mack

Oklahoma State

Big 12

6-4

Sr.

F

Aari McDonald

Arizona

Pac-12

5-6

Sr.

G

Olivia Nelson-Ododa

Connecticut

Big East

6-5

Jr.

F

Michaela Onyenwere

UCLA

Pac-12

6-0

Sr.

F

NaLyssa Smith

Baylor

Big 12

6-2

Jr.

F

Kiana Williams

Stanford

Pac-12

5-8

Sr.

G

 

* indicates player selected as 2020 Wooden Award All American

 


Showing 6 reactions

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  • Brendan McKibbin
    commented 2021-03-17 19:06:06 -0700
    I agree that Caitlin Clark is at least a top 10 player in the country. However my comments were that Paige Bueckers was a better player than Clark and deserved mention in the Wooden Award that others said Bueckers wasn’t worthy of. In the Wooden list of players in your top 5 who you would want to have the ball in their hands wouldn’t Buecker’s be on that list – because she would be on my list.
  • Ollie Flanagan
    commented 2021-03-17 06:09:20 -0700
    Brendan McKibbin- I am a UConn fan. Regardless of rooting interest, Caitlin Clark deserved to be in this top twenty, and should be on the final fifteen. I can count seven (including UConn’n Nelson-Ododa) that Clark is more deserving than. In fact, if I were picking a player to have on my team in a must win situation, she would be in my top five.
  • Brendan McKibbin
    commented 2021-03-05 18:46:36 -0800
    Bueckers won Big East Player of the Year as well as freshman of the year. The Minnesota native averaged 19.5 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game and shot exactly 50 percent from beyond the arc in Big East play. With 2 other team players also ganering 1st or 2nd team selections she wasn’t needed to score as much as Clark was needed to score for her team.
  • Lawrence Conard
    commented 2021-02-15 18:29:03 -0800
    How is the best player in America Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes not on this list?
  • Izak Walz
    commented 2021-02-05 13:03:04 -0800
    I don’t necessarily believe that it’s fair to name 6’0" Fr. PG – P. Bueckers (Uconn) to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 List without including 6’0" Fr. PG – C. Clarke (Iowa) also. In my opinion C. Clarke has played collegiate basketball at a higher level compared to other players such as P. Bueckers (Uconn) – H. Van Lith (Louisville) – S. Goforth (Oregon State) and any of the other freshman basketball players across the country.
  • Brian Takao
    published this page in News & Media 2021-02-01 13:48:15 -0800

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