LOS ANGELES, Calif. (January 30, 2023) – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® Late Season Top 20 Watch List today on ESPN2. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2022-23 season thus far, the list comprises of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.

On the 2023 Wooden Award™ Late Season Top 20, three players make their debut on the Wooden Watch™: Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State), Markquis Nowell (Kansas State) and Jalen Pickett (Penn State). One school has multiple players on the list: Kansas State (Johnson & Nowell).

The ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 lead all conferences with four selections each on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, followed by the American, Pac-12 and SEC with two selections each, and the Horizon and WCC with one selection apiece. 

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Men’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 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.

About the John R. Wooden Award

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college
basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All America Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees 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), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), and last year’s recipients, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky.

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.

The Legends of Coaching Award will be presented to Coach Dawn Staley, the 2023 recipient, along with the Wooden Award Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 7, 2023. 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.

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Wooden Award

Presented by Wendy’s

2022-23 Late Season Top 20

# indicates player selected as 2020-21 Wooden Award All American

* indicates player selected as 2021-22 Wooden Award All American

** indicates player selected as 2021-22 Wooden Award Winner