Baylor WBB’s Blackwell Named to Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List
LOS ANGELES – The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® announced on Tuesday that Baylor women’s basketball’s Aijha Blackwell has been named to the Women’s Preseason Top 50 Watch List on ESPN.com.
Blackwell is one of 50 student-athletes on the list and one of seven represented by the Big 12 Conference. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of student-athletes who are the early frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
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.
In her first two games at Baylor, Blackwell is averaging 20.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. In last Thursday’s win over Incarnate Word, she registered her first 20-point performance of the season, reaching a game-high 23 for her 20th-career 20-point outing. Additionally, the Berkeley, Mo., native grabbed a game-high 11 boards for her first double-double of the year and 41st of her career.
Other preseason honors for Blackwell include conference newcomer of the year, an all-league selection, a spot on the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, which recognizes the top small forwards in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, and a selection to the Naismith Trophy Watch List.
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.