Baylor Women's Basketball's Blackwell Named to Cheryl Miller Award Watch List

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Baylor women’s basketball senior transfer Aijha Blackwell has been placed on the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced on Wednesday.

Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year and Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, the annual award in its sixth year recognizes the top small forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.

The Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year transferred to Baylor after spending three seasons at Missouri. A three-time All-SEC performer, Blackwell led the Tigers last season with 14.9 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, which was the highest single-season rebounding average in program history. She shot 48.7 percent from the floor and 30.6 percent from 3-point range in her junior campaign.

Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point during the 2022-23 season. Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting Friday, Oct. 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award will be narrowed to 10 and then to just five in late February. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Miller and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The recipient of the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center), in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.