The 2015-16 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30

The John R. Wooden Award announced the Women’s Preseason Top 30 today. The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The list is chosen by a preseason poll of national women’s college basketball media members.

The 2015 John R. Wooden Award winner Breanna Stewart of Connecticut headlines this year’s preseason Top 30 list and is looking to become the fifth women’s player to win the award twice. Two other 2015 Wooden Award All Americans join Stewart on the list: Nina Davis of Baylor and Tiffany Mitchell of South Carolina. The defending NCAA champion Huskies feature three players on the list: Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck and Stewart. Along with Connecticut, South Carolina also has three candidates (Alaina Coates, Mitchell and A’ja Wilson). Baylor, Duke, Florida State, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas A&M each have a pair of players selected.

Seven conferences are represented on the list with the SEC boasting seven selections, followed by the ACC and Big Ten with six apiece. The American Athletic Conference has four selections, the Big 12 and Pac-12 have three apiece and the Atlantic 10 has one pick. Of the players on the Preseason Top 30 list, 23 out of 30 are upperclassmen, including 12 seniors. No freshman made the list. Interestingly, two players named Courtney Williams made the list (South Florida, Texas A&M).

Players not chosen to the preseason list are eligible for both the midseason list and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 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.

2015-16 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30

Name Height Class Position School Conference
Lindsay Allen 5-8 Jr. G Notre Dame ACC
Jillian Alleyne 6-3 Sr. F Oregon Pac-12
Ameryst Alston 5-9 Sr. G Ohio State Big Ten
Adut Bulgak 6-4 Sr. C Florida State ACC
Alaina Coates 6-4 Jr. C South Carolina SEC
Nia Coffey 6-1 Jr. F Northwestern Big Ten
Nina Davis# 5-11 Jr. F Baylor Big 12
Diamond DeShields 6-1 Soph. G Tennessee SEC
Rebecca Greenwell 6-1 Soph. G Duke ACC
Bria Holmes 6-1 Sr. G West Virginia Big 12
Moriah Jefferson 5-7 Sr. G Connecticut The American
Niya Johnson 5-8 Sr. G Baylor Big 12
Brionna Jones 6-3 Jr. C Maryland Big Ten
Jonquel Jones 6-4 Sr. F George Washington Atlantic 10
Kelsey Mitchell 5-8 Soph. G Ohio State Big Ten
Tiffany Mitchell# 5-9 Sr. G South Carolina SEC
Kelsey Plum 5-8 Jr. G Washington Pac-12
Aerial Powers 6-0 Jr. F Michigan State Big Ten
Leticia Romero 5-8 Jr. G Florida State ACC
Azurá Stevens 6-6 Soph. F/G Duke ACC
Breanna Stewart#* 6-4 Sr. F Connecticut The American
Lili Thompson 5-7 Jr. G Stanford Pac-12
Morgan Tuck 6-2 Jr. F Connecticut The American
Brianna Turner 6-3 Soph. F Notre Dame ACC
Victoria Vivians 6-1 Soph. F Mississippi State SEC
Courtney Walker 5-8 Sr. G Texas A&M SEC
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 5-11 Jr. G Maryland Big Ten
Courtney Williams 5-8 Sr. G South Florida The American
Courtney Williams 6-1 Sr. F/G Texas A&M SEC
A’ja Wilson 6-5 Soph. F South Carolina SEC

# indicates player selected as a 2014-15 Wooden Award All American
* indicates player selected as 2014-15 Wooden Award Player of the Year

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