SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today the 20 watch list candidates for the 2022 Cheryl Miller Award. Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year and Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, the annual award in its fifth year recognizes the top small forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
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A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
“The student-athletes named to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year watchlist have worked tremendously hard and should be proud of all they have achieved,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “Cheryl has long been recognized as one of the greatest athletes to ever play our game after an absolutely dominant career at USC and winning a pair of NCAA Championships. We are very much looking forward to working with her alongside our own selection committee in evaluating talent throughout the 2021-22 season.”
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in fan voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Ms. Miller and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.
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The winner of the 2022 Cheryl Miller Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award include Ashley Joens, Iowa State (2021); Satou Sabally, Oregon (2020); Bridget Carleton, Iowa State (2019) and Gabby Williams, Connecticut (2018).
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For more information on the 2021 Cheryl Miller Award and the latest updates, log onto and follow @hoophall and #MillerAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, Oct. 29.
Below is the 20-person watch list for the 2022 Cheryl Miller Award:
| PLAYER | SCHOOL |
|---|---|
| Sam Thomas | Arizona |
| Taylor Soule | Boston College |
| Jasmine Dickey | Delaware |
| Elizabeth Balogun | Duke |
| Grace Berger | Indiana |
| Ashley Joens | Iowa State |
| Rhyne Howard | Kentucky |
| Emily Engstler | Louisville |
| Chloe Bibby | Maryland |
| Rickea Jackson | Mississippi State |
| Alyssa Utsby | North Carolina |
| Erica Johnson | Ohio |
| Madi Williams | Oklahoma |
| Andra Espinoza-Hunter | Seton Hall |
| Myah Selland | South Dakota State |
| Haley Jones | Stanford |
| Mia Davis | Temple |
| Rae Burrell | Tennessee |
| Kayla Wells | Texas A&M |
| Vivian Gray | Texas Tech |
*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2021-22 season
