Seven players from the SEC have been named to the Wooden Award Top 25 midseason watch list, which features the players considered strong candidates for the 2022 John R. Wooden Women’s Player of the Year award.
The Big Ten follows with five nominees, and the ACC has four.
DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow was the lone freshman named to the list after leading the nation in rebounds and coming in second in double-doubles through the first half of the season. The forward is one of four players making their debut on the list, joining Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes, Maryland’s Angel Reese and Georgia’s Jenna Staiti.
Some of college basketball’s top returners from last season are also featured, including South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston.
South Carolina leads all schools with three nominees in Boston, Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson. Stanford and Maryland each have two on the list.
2021 Wooden Award Player of the Year Paige Bueckers is the only UConn player to make the list despite missing the last month following knee surgery.
The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the NCAA Elite Eight while the winner of the award will be announced in April following the NCAA Tournament.
Full list of nominees
- Shakira Austin, Mississippi
- Kierstan Bell, FGCU
- Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
- Cameron Brink, Stanford
- Paige Bueckers, UConn
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa
- Zia Cooke, South Carolina
- Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech
- Elissa Cunane, NC State
- Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
- Naz Hillmon, Michigan
- Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
- Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
- Rickea Jackson, Mississippi State
- Ashley Joens, Iowa State
- Haley Jones, Stanford
- Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
- Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
- Aneesah Morrow, DePaul
- Charisma Osborne, UCLA
- Ashley Owusu, Maryland
- Angel Reese, Maryland
- NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
- Jenna Staiti, Georgia
- Maddy Westbeld, Notre Dame