Wooden Award | November 5, 2019 Women's basketball: John R. Wooden Award announces top 30 watch list Watch: UConn's Geno Auriemma reflects on his career entering 35th season Share LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® announced the Women’s Preseason Top 30 Watch List on ESPNW. 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. Several universities boast multiple players on the list: Baylor (Lauren Cox, Juicy Landrum, and DiDi Richards) and Oregon (Ruthy Hebard, Ionescu, and Satou Sabally) lead all schools with three selections, while Connecticut (Crystal Dangerfield and Christyn Williams), Oregon State (Mikayla Pivec and Destiny Slocum), and Stanford (DiJonai Carrington and Kiana Williams) each have two players on the list. The preseason list represents nine conferences: the Pac-12 leads all conferences with nine selections, followed by the SEC with six, the ACC and Big 12 with four apiece, the American and Big Ten with two each, and Conference USA, Ivy League, and Missouri Valley with one selection apiece. BRACKET PREDICTIONS: NCAA.com's Michelle Smith predicts the 2020 tournament bracket 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™ 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. 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. FOLLOW: Top 25 schedule, scores and games to watch in the opening week Name School Conference Height Class Position Bella Alarie Princeton Ivy League 6-4 Sr. G/F DiJonai Carrington Stanford Pac-12 5-11 Sr. G Chennedy Carter Texas A&M SEC 5-7 Jr. G Kaila Charles Maryland Big Ten 6-1 Sr. G Lauren Cox Baylor Big 12 6-4 Sr. F Crystal Dangerfield Connecticut American 5-5 Sr. G Rennia Davis Tennessee SEC 6-2 Jr. G/F Chelsea Dungee Arkansas SEC 5-11 Jr. G Dana Evans Louisville ACC 5-6 Jr. G Kiah Gillespie Florida State ACC 6-2 Jr. F Haley Gorecki Duke ACC 6-0 Sr. G Tyasha Harris South Carolina SEC 5-10 Sr. G Ruthy Hebard Oregon Pac-12 6-4 Sr. F Becca Hittner Drake Missouri Valley 6-0 Sr. G Rhyne Howard Kentucky SEC 6-2 So. G Sabrina Ionescu# Oregon Pac-12 5-11 Sr. G Juicy Landrum Baylor Big 12 5-8 Sr. G Aari McDonald Arizona Pac-12 5-6 Jr. G Ayana Mitchell LSU SEC 6-0 Sr. F Beatrice Mompremier Miami ACC 6-4 Sr. F Erica Ogwumike Rice Conference USA 5-9 Sr. G Michaela Onyenwere UCLA Pac-12 6-0 Jr. F Ali Patberg Indiana Big Ten 5-11 Jr. G Mikayla Pivec Oregon State Pac-12 5-10 Sr. G DiDi Richards Baylor Big 12 6-1 Jr. G Satou Sabally Oregon Pac-12 6-4 Jr. F Destiny Slocum Oregon State Pac-12 5-7 Jr. G Christyn Williams Connecticut American 5-11 So. G Kiana Williams Stanford Pac-12 5-8 Jr. G Peyton Williams Kansas State Big 12 6-4 Sr. F # indicates player selected as the 2019 Wooden Award Player of the Year About the John R. Wooden Award Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards 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, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Zion Williamson of Duke. OREGON ON TOP: Ducks top the Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend. 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. 2022 March Madness South Carolina beats UConn for 2022 title | Tournament results | Full bracket BRACKET TRACKER: How every perfect bracket busted STORE: Official South Carolina championship gear| Latest college basketball gear Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer announces retirement after Hall of Fame coaching career Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer announces her retirement after a Hall of Fame career, leaving the game with 1,055 wins and countless lives improved through leadership, mentorship and guidance. READ MORE The colleges (and conferences) with the most players taken in the 2022 WNBA draft Thirty-six new players were drafted into the WNBA in 2022, including 34 from NCAA Division I programs. The most came from the ACC and SEC. READ MORE College basketball teams with the most WNBA 1st-round draft picks Connecticut leads all women's college basketball programs with 25 players taken in the first round of the WNBA draft. READ MORE