2022-23 Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Watch List
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® announced the Women’s Preseason Top 50 Watch List on ESPN.com, and three Tennessee standouts are included in that group.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award. After being named to the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List on Nov. 4, Lady Vols Jordan Horston, Rickea Jackson and Tamari Key have joined their second national player of the year watch list.
The list represents ten conferences: the ACC leads all leagues with 12 selections, followed by the Big Ten and SEC with eight each, the Big 12 with seven, the Pac-12 with six, the Big East with five and the ASUN, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley and Summit with one selection apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 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 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented in Los Angeles in April.
Horston, 6-foot-2 guard, is averaging 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest through two games. She opened the campaign with a 20-point, 13-rebound, four-assist effort vs. No. 14/15 Ohio State in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. She was off to a great start vs. UMass on Nov. 10 but suffered a lower extremity injury in the second quarter that knocked her out of that game and also forced her to miss the contest vs. No. 12/11 Indiana on Monday night.
In addition to being named to the Wooden list, Horston is on the 2022-23 Naismith Trophy Watch List and is a member of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Preseason Watch List and an All-SEC First Team preseason pick by the coaches, media and the USA TODAY Sports Network. She was a 2022 All-SEC First Team pick by the media and coaches, and was named All-America Honorable Mention by AP and the WBCA. Additionally, Horston made the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Top 10, Wooden Late Season List and Naismith Midseason List, and was the South Point Shootout Most Outstanding Player.
Jackson, a 6-foot-2 forward, is putting up 16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals through three contests, leading the team in points, rebounds and steals. She carded a double-double effort of 24 points and 11 rebounds vs. UMass on Nov. 10 and turned in a team-leading 17 points vs. No. 12/11 Indiana on Nov. 14.
In addition to the Wooden list, Jackson is on the 2022-23 Naismith Trophy Watch List and is a member of the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List and an All-SEC First Team preseason pick by the media and All-SEC Second Team choice by the coaches and the USA TODAY Sports Network. Jackson has previously earned WBCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades twice and made the All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC All-Tournament Team in 2019-20.
Key, a 6-foot-6 center is averaging 11.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals through three contests while hitting 68.4 percent from the field on 13-of-19 shooting. In games vs. UMass and No. 12/11 Indiana, Key has managed double-figure efforts of 13 and 14 points.
In addition to the Wooden list, Key is on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and is a member of the 2022-23 Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List and an All-SEC First Team preseason pick by the coaches, media and the USA TODAY Sports Network. The school’s all-time record-holder for blocked shots and triple-doubles in a career and season, she was named All-SEC Second Team by the media and coaches a year ago and is a two-time member of the SEC All-Defensive Team. Key also was named a 2022 Lisa Leslie Award Top-Five Finalist and was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist.
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 America 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, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky.
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.
The Legends of Coaching Award will be presented along with the Wooden Award Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 7, 2023. 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.