Howard on Wooden Award National Player of the Year Watch List
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky sophomore guard Rhyne Howard has been tabbed one of 30 players nationally to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30 Watch List. The John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s annually seeks to honor the national player of the year in both men’s and women’s basketball.
The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The list is chosen by a preseason poll of national women’s college basketball media members. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, 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 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on April 10.
Howard has received several preseason awards this year, including a first-team Preseason All-Southeastern Conference honoree by league media and league coaches. The sophomore is also on the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List, which annually honors the nation’s best small forward.
Howard is coming off an incredible first season at Kentucky where she was named a unanimous national freshman of the year by espnW, USBWA and WBCA. The national honors were added to her already lengthy list of honors last season as the SEC Freshman of the Year by league coaches and SEC Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press. She was also named WBCA All-America honorable mention, first-team All-SEC, SEC All-Freshman Team and second-team All-SEC by the AP.
The guard put herself in elite company last season as she was only the second freshman in program history to lead the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding as a rookie, joining UK All-American Valerie Still. Howard ended the season leading UK with 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while she ranked second with 68 steals and 74 3-pointers made and third in assists and blocks. She scored in double figures in 26 games with 20 or more points in 10 games and five double-doubles while she was the only freshman in the country with 500+ points, 70+ 3s, 75+ assists and 65+ steals while she ranked third among freshmen nationally in points and points per game.
Kentucky will begin its 46th season of varsity women’s basketball Tuesday night vs. Mount St. Mary’s inside Memorial Coliseum. Single-game tickets are $10 (all ages) in reserved seating areas, while general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-18) and seniors (age 65+). Children aged 5 and under do not require a ticket in general admission areas. Purchasing season tickets offers the best option and price savings for fans. Season tickets are available in upper-level reserved chairbacks (sections AA-JJ), lower-level reserved bleachers (sections R-Z) or general admission bleachers (sections RR-ZZ) for $69 per ticket.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
