Four American women's basketball players were named to the the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 List, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Monday, Nov. 24. The list is chosen by a preseason poll of national college women’s basketball media members.
Moriah Jefferson, UConn
Jefferson enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2013-14, starting all 40 games and averaging 10.0 points per contest. The Texas native led The American in assists per game (4.9) and shooting percentage (57.5) en route to an all-conference First Team selection. She dished out 25 assists compared to only seven turnovers during the Huskies’ six-game run through the NCAA Tournament. Her 195 total assists marked the fifth-highest single-season total for a Husky player.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, UConn
Mosqueda-Lewis is competing in her final season in a UConn uniform after helping the Huskies capture their second consecutive national title in 2013-14. Limited by injury, the forward earned 26 starts and notched 19 double-figure scoring games. She posted the program’s third-ever triple-double in the Huskies’ NCAA Second Round victory over Saint Joseph’s on March 25. Mosqueda-Lewis was tabbed as the Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player after averaging 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 51.0 percent in the Huskies first four NCAA Tournament victories.
Breanna Stewart, UConn
Stewart, who is scoring at a 21.0 points per game clip this season, averaged 19.4 points and 2.8 blocks per game in 2013-14. She recorded double-digit points in 38 of UConn’s 40 games on her way to being selected as the 2013-14 National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, the Atlanta Tip-Off Club (Naismith Trophy), the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Honda Sports Award.
Courtney Williams, USF
Williams was one of 16 underclassmen and one of 17 guards named to the watch list. The junior averages 17.5 points and eight rebounds per game in 2014-15 and earned a pair of American Athletic Conference Honor Roll mentions, and was one of just two players to be unanimously selected to the preseason all-conference first team.
The American had four of the 30 selections, as one of five conferences with more than three picks. Players not chosen to the preseason list are eligible for both the midseason list 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.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and ‘11). Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike won the 2014 Wooden Award.