John R. Wooden Award Announces 2020-21 Preseason Top 30 Watch List

POSTED: December 1, 2020 -- 3:30 p.m. CT

The John R. Wooden Award® announced the Women's Preseason Top 30 Watch List on ESPNW. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.

Several schools have multiple selections on the list: Connecticut (Paige Bueckers, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook, and Christyn Williams) leads all schools with four selections, followed by Arkansas (Chelsea Dungee and Destiny Slocum), South Carolina (Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke), Stanford (Lexie Hull and Kiana Williams), and Syracuse (Kiara Lewis and Tiana Mangakahia) each have two selections.

The list represents six conferences: The SEC leads all conferences with nine selections, followed by the Big 12 with five, and the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and PAC-12 with four selections apiece.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Women's Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the 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. 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 following the NCAA Tournament in April.

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The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Women's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ late season list, and the 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 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10, 2020.

John R. Wooden Award Announces 2020-21 Preseason Top 30 Watch List

* - indicates player selected as 2019-20 Wooden Award All American

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