basketball-men-d1 flag

Wooden Award release | January 9, 2019

College basketball: 2019 John Wooden Award midseason top 25 announced

Nevada's Caroline has sights set high for the Wolf Pack

On the 2019 Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List, seven players make their debut on the Wooden Watch after not being named on the Preseason Top 50: Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Virginia Tech, Ignas Brazdeikis of Michigan, Jordan Caroline of Nevada, Jarrett Culver of Texas Tech, Ja Morant of Murray State, Myles Powell of Seton Hall, and Admiral Schofield of Tennessee. Three schools have two players that were chosen: Duke (RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson), Nevada (Caroline and Caleb Martin), and Tennessee (Schofield and Grant Williams).

The Big Ten leads all conferences with seven selections; followed by the ACC with five; the Big East and SEC with three selections each; the Big 12 and Mountain West with two apiece; and the Ohio Valley, Summit League, and WCC with one selection each.

MORE: 13 college basketball predictions that were dead wrong

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ 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 2019 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 12, 2019.

Here are the players on the midseason watch list.

Name School Class Position
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Virginia Tech So. G
RJ Barrett Duke Fr. F
Ignas Brazdeikis Michigan Fr. F
Jordan Caroline Nevada Sr. G/F
Jarrett Culver Texas Tech So. G
Mike Daum South Dakota State Sr. F
Carsen Edwards Purdue Jr. G
Rui Hachimura Gonzaga Jr. F
Ethan Happ Wisconsin Sr. F
Markus Howard Marquette Jr. G
De'Andre Hunter Virginia So. G
Keldon Johnson Kentucky Fr. G
Romeo Langford Indiana Fr. G
Dedric Lawson Kansas Jr. F
Caleb Martin Nevada Sr. F
Luke Maye North Carolina Sr. F
Ja Morant Murray State So. G
Jordan Murphy Minnesota Sr. F
James Palmer Jr. Nebraska Sr. G
Shamorie Ponds St. John's Jr. G
Myles Powell Seton Hall Jr. G
Admiral Schofield Tennessee Sr. G
Grant Williams Tennessee Jr. F
Zion Williamson Duke Fr. F
Cassius Winston Michigan State Jr. G

The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, a history

The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic officially signals the opening of the DII men's basketball season. Here's what you need to know.
READ MORE

Minnesota State, Nova Southeastern top the DII men’s basketball preseason Power 10 rankings

Minnesota State and Nova Southeastern have the talent to make it back to the championship game. Who else can contend?
READ MORE

South Florida head men's basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim passes away

University of South Florida head men's basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim passed away earlier today.
READ MORE