UConn's Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams are all on the ballot for the Wooden Award.

Here is the release

The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the 2017 National Ballot for the  John R. Wooden Award® Presented by Wendy’s® today on ESPNW. Selected by the Wooden Award™ National Advisory Board, the list is comprised of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and one shall receive the Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.

On the Wooden Award National Ballot, Connecticut leads all universities with three selections: Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams. Three other teams have a pair of players on the ballot: Maryland (Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough), Notre Dame (Lindsay Allen and Brianna Turner), and Washington (Chantel Osahor and Kelsey Plum). The Pac-12 leads all conferences with four selections on the National Ballot, followed by the ACC, The American, and the Big Ten with three apiece, and the SEC with two. All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award. The qualifications include: candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be a full-time student making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates should contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.

Voting will take place from March 14th to March 21st, and voters, consisting of hundreds of members of the national women’s college basketball media, take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, and the finalists for the Wooden Award, widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show March 27th on ESPN at 8pm EST.

The 41st annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men’s and women’s most outstanding college basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s on ESPN2 on Friday, April 7, 2017. The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2017 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to Muffet McGraw, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Notre Dame.


Name School Conference Height Class Position
Lindsay Allen Notre Dame ACC 5-8 Sr. G
Jordin Canada UCLA Pac-12 5-6 Jr. G
Napheesa Collier Connecticut The American 6-1 Soph. F
Brionna Jones Maryland Big Ten 6-3 Sr. C
Kelsey Mitchell Ohio State Big Ten 5-8 Jr. G
Chantel Osahor Washington Pac-12 6-2 Sr. F/C
Alexis Peterson Syracuse ACC 5-7 Sr. G
Kelsey Plum Washington Pac-12 5-8 Sr. G
Katie Lou Samuelson Connecticut The American 6-3 Soph. G/F
Brianna Turner Notre Dame ACC 6-3 Jr F
Victoria Vivians Mississippi State SEC 6-1 Jr. G
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough Maryland Big Ten 5-11 Sr G
Sydney Weise Oregon State Pac-12 6-1 Sr. G
Gabby Williams Connecticut The American 5-11 Jr. F
A'ja Wilson South Carolina SEC 6-5 Jr. F