Selected from a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list consists of 50 student-athletes who are early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and the Most Outstanding Player Award Outstanding. After being named to the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List on Nov. 4, the Lady Vols Jordan Horston, Rickea Jackson AND Tamar key have joined the national second player of the year watch list.
The list represents ten conferences: the ACC leads all leagues with 12 selections, followed by the Big Ten and SEC with eight each, the Big 12 with seven, the Pac-12 with six, the Big East with five and the ASUN, Atlantic 10. , Missouri Valley and Summit with one selection each.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Women’s Player of the Year Award, presented by Wendy’s. Players not selected to the preseason roster are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason roster, end-of-season roster and National Ballot. The National Ballot is made up of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the lumber award qualifications.
Nearly 1,000 voters will rank 10 of those 15 players when voting opens before the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to consider 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 in Los Angeles in April.
Horston, a 6-foot-2 guard, is averaging 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest through two games. She opened the campaign with a 20-point, 13-rebound, four-assist effort against No. 14/15 Ohio State in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. She got off to a great start against UMass on Nov. 10, but suffered a lower extremity injury in the second quarter that knocked her out of that game and also forced her to miss the game against No. 12/11 Indiana on Monday night. .
In addition to being named to the Wooden roster, Horston is on the 2022-23 Naismith Trophy Watch List and is a member of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Preseason Watch List and a preseason All-SEC First Team selection by the coaches, media and USA. TODAY Sports Network. She was a 2022 All-SEC first-team selection by the media and coaches and was named Honorable Mention All-America by the AP and WBCA. Additionally, Horston was ranked in the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Top 10, the Late Season Wooden List and the Naismith Midseason List, and was the Most Outstanding Player of the South Point Shootout.
Jackson, a 6-foot-2 forward, is averaging 16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals through three contests, leading the team in points, rebounds and steals. She posted a double-double effort of 24 points and 11 rebounds against UMass on Nov. 10 and turned in a team-leading 17 points against No. 12/11 Indiana on Nov. 14.
In addition to the Wooden roster, Jackson is on the 2022-23 Naismith Trophy Watch List and is a member of the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List and a preseason All-SEC first-team selection by the media and a second-team All -SEC by coaches and the USA TODAY Sports Network. Jackson previously earned WBCA All-America honors twice and made the All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC All-Tournament Team in 2019-20.
Key, a 6-foot center is averaging 11.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals through three games while shooting 68.4 percent from the field on 13-of-19 shooting. In games against UMass and No. 12/11 Indiana, Key has reached double-digit efforts of 13 and 14 points.
In addition to the Wooden roster, Key is on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and is a member of the 2022-23 Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List and a preseason All-SEC first-team selection by the coaches, media and USA TODAY Sports Network. The school’s all-time record holder for blocked shots and triples in a career and season, she was named Second Team All-SEC by the media and coaches a year ago and is a two-time member of the SEC All-Defensive Team. Key also was named as a finalist for the 2022 Lisa Leslie Top-Five Award and was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Established in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball by recognizing the men’s and women’s Wooden Most Outstanding Player Award, the men’s and women’s Wooden Award All America Teams and the annual Legend Award selection Wooden of the recipient of Coaching. Honorees have demonstrated to their university that they meet or exceed the John R. Wooden Award qualifications established by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including progress toward 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 university’s general scholarship fund on behalf of Wooden All American Award recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long basketball camps in college. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Special Olympics Wooden Award Basketball Tournament in Southern California. The one-day tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and the Wooden Award All-Americans and coaches in attendance. Hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Awards weekend.
The Legends of Coaching Award will be presented in conjunction 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.
