Baylor women’s basketball junior Kalani Brown is one of 33 players included on the midseason watch list for the 2018 Wade Trophy, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced Thursday morning.
The 6-7 center leads the nation in field goal percentage (.671) and Baylor in scoring (20.2) through 23 games this season. Brown has registered a team-high 11 double-doubles on the season, which ranks second in the Big 12 Conference.
Brown, the 2018 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, has scored more than 30 points twice this season and has recorded 12 20-point performances. She has pulled down double-digit rebound totals in 11 games, including a 21-board effort against Lamar, which is the leading conference total to date.
The Slidell, La., native is also included on the 2018 John R. Wooden Award Wendy’s Late Season 20 list, is one of 10 finalists for the Lisa Leslie Award and is in consideration for the 2018 Citizen Trophy.
The Wade Trophy — now in its 41st year — is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women’s basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. First awarded in 1978 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America, the Wade Trophy has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I National Player of the Year since 2001.
The WBCA will announce the four finalists for the honor in mid-March. The winner of the 2018 Wade Trophy will be announced during ESPN2’s telecast of the 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four national semifinal games on March 30.
