John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30 for 2013-14
The Los Angeles Athletic Club has announced its John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30 today, which is comprised of 30 student-athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The list is chosen by a preseason poll of national college women’s basketball media members.
Two Wooden All American return to the team from a year ago, Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike and Baylor point guard Odyssey Sims. Ogwumike was the Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2012-13, averaging 22.4 points and 12.9 rebounds. Sims enters her senior season ranking No. 2 all time at Baylor in both assists (469) and three point shooting (.405). Both players hope to lead their teams to top national finishes in 2013-14.
Players not chosen to the preseason team are eligible for both the midseason team and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top five players, will be announced the week of the Final Four.
Connecticut boasts four players on the preseason Top 30 list: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Bria Hartley, Stefanie Dolson, and Breanna Stewart, all of whom played key roles in the school’s title run in 2013. Other names of note include Louisville’s Shoni Schimmel, who made her mark on the national scene with an impressive performance in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, and Florida International’s Jerica Coley, the country’s top scorer a year ago at 26.3 points per game.
The ACC led all conferences with nine selections, followed by the Pac-12 and newly formed American Athletic Conference with five; the SEC with four; the Big 12 and Big Ten with three; and Conference USA with one. In addition to Connecticut, five other schools had multiple players chosen: Duke (Elizabeth Williams, Chelsea Gray, Tricia Liston); California (Brittany Boyd, Gennifer Brandon); Notre Dame (Kayla McBride, Natalie Achonwa); Tennessee (Bashaara Graves, Meighan Simmons); and North Carolina (Diamond DeShields, Xylina McDaniel).
The 38th annual Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s will honor the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners the weekend of April 11-13, 2014. It will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and will recognize the Legends of Coaching Award recipient Tara VanDerveer of Stanford.
2013-14 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30, Women
|
Name |
Height |
Class |
Position |
University |
Conference |
|
Natalie Achonwa |
6-3 |
Sr. |
F |
Notre Dame |
ACC |
|
Rachel Banham |
5-9 |
Jr. |
G |
Minnesota |
Big Ten |
|
Brittany Boyd |
5-9 |
Jr. |
G |
California |
Pac-12 |
|
Gennifer Brandon |
6-2 |
Sr. |
F |
California |
Pac-12 |
|
Hallie Christofferson |
6-3 |
Sr. |
F |
Iowa State |
Big 12 |
|
Jerica Coley |
5-8 |
Sr. |
G |
FIU |
Conference USA |
|
Jazmine Davis |
5-7 |
Jr. |
PG |
Washington |
Pac-12 |
|
Diamond DeShields |
6-1 |
Fr. |
G |
North Carolina |
ACC |
|
Stefanie Dolson |
6-5 |
Sr. |
C |
UConn |
The American |
|
Aaryn Ellenberg |
5-7 |
Sr. |
G |
Oklahoma |
Big 12 |
|
Bashaara Graves |
6-2 |
So. |
F |
Tennessee |
SEC |
|
Chelsea Gray |
5-11 |
Sr. |
G |
Duke |
ACC |
|
Cassie Harberts |
6-2 |
Sr. |
F |
USC |
Pac-12 |
|
Bria Hartley |
5-8 |
Sr. |
G |
UConn |
The American |
|
Jordan Hooper |
6-2 |
Sr. |
F |
Nebraska |
Big Ten |
|
Tricia Liston |
6-1 |
Sr. |
G |
Duke |
ACC |
|
Maggie Lucas |
5-10 |
Sr. |
G |
Penn State |
Big Ten |
|
Tyuanna Marshall |
5-9 |
Sr. |
G |
Georgia Tech |
ACC |
|
Kayla McBride |
5-11 |
Sr. |
G |
Notre Dame |
ACC |
|
Xylina McDaniel |
6-2 |
So. |
F |
North Carolina |
ACC |
|
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis |
6-0 |
Jr. |
F |
UConn |
The American |
|
Chiney Ogwumike# |
6-4 |
Sr. |
F |
Stanford |
Pac-12 |
|
Theresa Plaisance |
6-5 |
Sr. |
F |
LSU |
SEC |
|
Shoni Schimmel |
5-6 |
Jr. |
G |
Louisville |
The American |
|
Meighan Simmons |
5-9 |
Sr. |
G |
Tennessee |
SEC |
|
Odyssey Sims# |
5-8 |
Sr. |
G |
Baylor |
Big 12 |
|
DeNesha Stallworth |
6-3 |
Sr. |
F |
Kentucky |
SEC |
|
Breanna Stewart |
6-4 |
So. |
F |
UConn |
The American |
|
Alyssa Thomas |
6-2 |
Sr. |
F |
Maryland |
ACC |
|
Elizabeth Williams |
6-3 |
Jr. |
C/F |
Duke |
ACC |
(Based on a preseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)
# indicates player chosen to the 2013 Wooden Award All American Team
