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INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers
Association has selected 35 outstanding players for its
2019-20
Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List. Members of the association's
board of directors chose the players to be included on the list
as contenders for the National Player of the Year.
The 2019-20 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award winner will be presented
at the 2020 NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans, along with the
Tamika Catchings Award honoring the women's freshman player of the
year. The winner will also be honored at the annual USBWA Awards
Luncheon at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Mon., April
13, 2020.
Four returning All-Americans highlight the list and six schools
have multiple players on the Watch List topped by four from UConn
and three from Oregon, both Women's Final Four participants last
season. The Pac-12 Conference leads the field with eight members
followed by the American Athletic and Southeastern Conferences with
five each and the ACC and Big Ten with four apiece. A total of 26
schools and 11 conferences are represented and there are 21 seniors
or graduate students on the list and five underclassmen.
Oregon senior guard Sabrina Ionescu, a two-time All-American,
headlines the Watch List. Ionescu is already the NCAA's all-time
leader in triple-doubles (18) after averaging 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds
and 8.2 assists last season, and earlier this season topped 2,000
career points (she has 2,079 going into Sunday's game) and can become
the first player in NCAA history to top 2,000 career points, 1,000
assists (852 to date) and 1,000 rebounds (812). Oregon teammates
Ruthie Hebard and Satou Sabally, both forwards, are also on the
Watch List.
Lauren Cox, a senior forward and returning All-American from
defending national champion Baylor, returns to the list after two
seasons as the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year. Maryland's
scoring leader, senior guard Kaila Charles, also returns from an
All-American season, as does Texas A&M's junior guard Chennedy Carter,
who was the only sophomore on last year's All-America team.
Four of UConn's starters – guards Crystal Dangerfield and Chrystyn
Williams and forwards Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Megan Walker – are
on the list from last year's NCAA semifinalists. Duke, South Carolina,
Maryland and Oregon State each have two players on the list. While
all Division I players are eligible for the Ann Meyers Drysdale
Award, the USBWA board has chosen the players on the watch list
to promote the award and give the membership, which votes on all
USBWA awards, an early look at some of the best players in the country.
In January, the USBWA will release a second watch list, followed
by finalists after All-America balloting is complete in March. Last
season, Megan Gustafson of Iowa won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award,
Baylor's Kim Mulkey was the National Coach of the Year Award and
Rhyne Howard of Kentucky won the National Freshman of the Year based
on voting by the USBWA membership.
The USBWA formally expanded its All-America team to 15 players
in 2019 and many of the players on this watch list will contend
for All-America honors. In addition, the USBWA continues to name
an Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week each
Tuesday.
Following is the complete 2019-20 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch
List:
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2019-20 ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE AWARD WATCH LIST |
| Pos. |
Player, School |
Ht. |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| G/F |
Bella Alarie,
Princeton |
6-4 |
Sr. |
Bethesda, Md. |
| F |
Aliyah Boston,
South Carolina |
6-5 |
Fr. |
St. Thomas, USVI |
| G |
Chennedy Carter,
Texas A&M |
5-7 |
Jr. |
Mansfield, Texas |
| G |
Kaila Charles,
Maryland |
6-1 |
Sr. |
Glenn Dale, Md. |
| F |
Lauren Cox, Baylor |
6-4 |
Sr. |
Flower Mound, Texas |
| G |
Crystal Dangerfield,
UConn |
5-5 |
Sr. |
Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
| F |
Mariella Fasoula,
Vanderbilt |
6-5 |
R-Sr. |
Athens, Greece |
| G |
Haley Gorecki,
Duke |
6-0 |
Gr. |
Palatine, Ill. |
| G |
Tyasha Harris,
South Carolina |
5-10 |
Sr. |
Noblesville, Ind. |
| F |
Ruthie Hebard,
Oregon |
6-4 |
Sr. |
Fairbanks, Alaska |
| F |
Joyner Holmes,
Texas |
6-3 |
Sr. |
Cedar Hill, Texas |
| G |
Rhyne Howard,
Kentucky |
6-2 |
So. |
Cleveland, Tenn. |
| G |
Sabrina Ionescu,
Oregon |
5-11 |
Sr. |
Walnut Creek, Calif. |
| G |
Stella Johnson,
Rider |
5-10 |
Sr. |
Denville, N.J. |
| G |
Tynice Martin,
West Virginia |
5-11 |
R-Sr. |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| G |
Taylor Mikesell,
Maryland |
5-11 |
So. |
Massillon, Ohio |
| G |
Aari McDonald,
Arizona |
5-6 |
Jr. |
Fresno, Calif. |
| F |
Beatrice Mompremier,
Miami |
6-4 |
R-Sr |
Miami, Fla. |
| F |
Olivia Nelson-Ododa,
UConn |
6-5 |
So. |
Winder, Ga. |
| F |
Leona Odum, Duke |
6-2 |
Sr. |
Lompoc, Calif. |
| G |
Erica Ogwumike,
Rice |
5-9 |
Sr. |
Cypress, Texas |
| F |
Michaela Onyenwere,
UCLA |
6-0 |
Jr. |
Aurora, Colo. |
| G |
Ali Patberg,
Indiana |
5-11 |
R-Jr. |
Columbus, Ind. |
| G/F |
Destiny Pitts,
Minnesota |
5-10 |
Jr. |
Detroit, Mich. |
| G |
Mikayla Pivec,
Oregon State |
5-10 |
Sr. |
Lynnwood, Wash. |
| F |
Satou Sabally,
Oregon |
6-4 |
Jr. |
Berlin, Germany |
| F |
Shadeen Samuels,
Seton Hall |
6-0 |
Sr. |
Ossining, N.Y. |
| G |
Destiny Slocum,
Oregon State |
5-7 |
R-Jr. |
Meridian, Idaho |
| G |
Kamiah Smalls,
James Madison |
5-10 |
Sr. |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
| F |
Chante Stonewall,
DePaul |
6-1 |
Sr. |
Normal, Ill. |
| F |
Megan Walker,
UConn |
6-1 |
Jr. |
Chesterfield, Va. |
| G |
Chrystyn Williams,
UConn |
5-11 |
So. |
Little Rock, Ark. |
| G |
Kiana Williams,
Stanford |
5-8 |
Jr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| G/F |
Jocelyn Willoughby,
Virginia |
6-0 |
Sr. |
East Orange, N.J. |
| G |
Kay Kay Wright,
UCF |
5-7 |
Sr. |
Orlando, Fla. |
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was
formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter
Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential
organizations in college basketball. It has selected a women's All-America
team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA
and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran
at 814-574-1485.
Related links:
•
USBWA Women's Honors
•
Download the Ann Meyers Drysdale
Award logo
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