Georgia Amoore Selected to John R. Wooden Award Top 50 Watch List
LOS ANGELES – Georgia Amoore has been named to the John R. Wooden Award® Preseason Top 50 Watch List, it was announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
The University of Kentucky women’s basketball point guard is one of 50 student-athletes named early frontrunners for the prestigious honors, including the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Most Outstanding Player Award.
Amoore, who was named to the John R. Wooden Award All-America Team last season, suited up for UK for the first time this week. She helped Kentucky soar past USC Upstate (98-43) and Northern Kentucky (70-41), averaging 12.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 9.0 assists per game, 1.5 blocks per game and 1.0 steals per game.
In her season debut, she recorded the 13th double-double of her college career on 11 points and 10 assists against the Spartans. She became the first player to record a double-double on points and assists in program history since Jada Walker did it on Nov. 13, 2022.
With Amoore leading the offense, the back-to-back triumphs marked the first time UK has won each of its first two games of a season by at least 29 points since 2018-19 and it marked just the third time UK has allowed 43 points or less in each of its first two games of a season (1974-75, 2018-19, 2024-25).
The Wildcat has received plenty of attention this preseason, including being named to the watch lists for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Award and the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award. She also was picked to the Preseason All-Southeastern Conference First Team by both the media and the coaches. Moreover, she received the seventh-most votes in the Associated Press Preseason All-America women’s basketball poll.
Amoore played four seasons under head coach Kenny Brooks at Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference (2021-24). Coming off an All-America season in 2023-24, she averaged 18.8 points per game and 6.8 assists per game as a senior. She concluded the season ranked fifth in the ACC and 41st in the nation in points per game and first in the ACC and fourth in the nation in assists per game. She shot 41.9 percent from the field and 85.9 percent from the line, while she also made 85 3-pointers on the season, which ranked second in the league and 20th in the nation.
In 2023-24, the then-senior collected two 30-point games and 16 20-point games, while she also recorded nine double-doubles, all of which were on points and assists. She was the only player in the league to put up at least five games with at least 10 assists, and she did so nine times.
Amoore set several career highs last season, too, including dishing out 16 assists against Houston Christian on Nov. 16 and scoring 39 points against Virginia on March 3. Her 39 points were the highest scoring output in ACC action in 2023-24, while it marked the second highest in a game in program history.
During her four years in Blacksburg, she became Virginia Tech’s all-time career leader in assists (656), assists / turnover ratio (1.8) and average minutes played (34.3), while she also climbed to second in 3-pointers (330) and third in scoring (1,853).
Amoore helped the Hokies earn their first ACC Tournament title in program history in 2023 and their first ACC regular-season title in 2024. She also played an instrumental role in the Hokies’ four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2021-24), including their storied run to the Final Four in 2023.
She has collected numerous individual honors last season, including being named an All-American by the AP, John R. Wooden Award and U.S. Writers Basketball Association in 2023-24. Amoore also was named one of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award and picked up ACC First Team honors for the second straight season in 2023-24.
This offseason, Amoore competed for the Australian National Team, while she also was invited and attended the Kelsey Plum Dawg Class for the second straight summer and the Nike Academy.
About the John R. Wooden Award®
Created in 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award ProgramTM hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All AmericaTM Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award® Legend of Coaching recipient. Wooden Award® All Americans have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award® as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award® Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07; ’08), Maya Moore (’09; ’11), Breanna Stewart (’15; ’16), and the last two year’s (’23 &’24) recipients, Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Zach Edey of Purdue.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award® has made charitable gifts of nearly one million dollars in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award® partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award® Special Olympics basketball day. The event brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award® All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award® Weekend.
The Wooden Award® Legends of Coaching honoree for 2025 is Mark Few of Gonzaga who will be presented his honor along with the Wooden Award® Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 11, 2025. For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award®, please go to http://www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award® on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
