Baylor women’s basketball junior Kalani Brown is one of 15 on the 2018 National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy’s, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Saturday afternoon. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, players from the list are candidates for the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding women’s college basketball player.
All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must 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.
Brown, the lone representative from the Big 12 Conference, was unanimously selected Big 12 Player of the Year and to the All-Big 12 first team. She leads the Lady Bears in scoring (19.9), rebounding (10.2) and field goal percentage (.657), notching a team-high 15 double-doubles on the season.
The Slidell, La. native has registered two 30-point games, 16 20-point efforts, two 20-rebound performances and 15 double figure rebounding performances. Brown’s career-high 23 rebounds at No. 21/22 Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally this year.
Voting will take place from March 13-20, and voters, consisting of hundreds of members of the national college basketball media, take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wooden Award All-American Team, consisting of the nation’s top five players and the finalists for the Wooden Award, widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on March 28 on ESPNU at 7 p.m. (CT).
The 42nd 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 6, 2018. The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2018 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to Jay Wright, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Villanova.
