Zion Williamson Headlines Late Season Top-20 List for Wooden Award

The men's and women's late season top 20 were both released as the Wooden Award whittled down its list of candidates.

The John R. Wooden Player of the Year award in men's and women's college basketball is one step closer to finding its new winners, releasing its late season top-20 list for each.

The men's list is headlined by the likes of Duke's Zion Williamson, Tennessee's Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield, Murray State's Ja Morant, Wisconsin's Ethan Happ and Purdue's Carsen Edwards, while the women's list is led by Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu, Louisville's Asia Durr, Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale and UConn's Napheesa Collier, Crystal Dangerfield and Katie Lou Samuelson.

In 2017–18, the award was won by Villanova's Jalen Brunson and South Carolina's A'ja Wilson, both of whom also were named the men's and women's Naismith College Player of the Year. Brunson is currently playing for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, while Wilson was the WNBA Rookie of the Year with the Las Vegas Aces.

The men's Wooden Award has not been won by a freshman since Kentucky's Anthony Davis did so in 2011–12, with Texas's Kevin Durant being the only other freshman to win it. Williamson, Duke teammate R.J. Barrett and Michigan's Ignas Brazdeikis are the only freshmen to make the men's top-20 list. No freshmen made the women's list, and a freshman has never won the women's Wooden Award.

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The full late season watch lists are below:

Men's Top 20

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech, senior
R.J. Barrett, Duke, freshman
Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan, freshman
Jordan Caroline, Nevada, senior
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech, sophomore
Mike Daum, South Dakota State, senior
Carsen Edwards, Purdue, junior
Kyle Guy, Virginia, junior
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga, junior
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin, senior
Markus Howard, Marquette, junior
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, sophomore
Dedric Lawson, Kansas, junior
Caleb Martin, Nevada, senior
Ja Morant, Murray State, sophomore
Shamorie Ponds, St. John's, junior
Admiral Schofield, Tennessee, senior
Grant Williams, Tennessee, junior
Zion Williamson, Duke, freshman
Cassius Winston, Michigan State, junior

Women's Top 20

Kristine Anigwe, California, senior
Kalani Brown, Baylor, senior
Bridget Carleton, Iowa State, senior
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M, sophomore
Kaila Charles, Maryland, junior
Napheesa Collier, UConn, senior
Lauren Cox, Baylor, junior
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri, senior
Crystal Dangerfield, UConn, junior
Asia Durr, Louisville, senior
Megan Gustafson, Iowa, senior
Ruthy Hebard, Oregon, junior
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon, junior
Tiana Mangakahia, Syracuse, junior
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State, senior
Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame, senior
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn, senior
Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame, senior
Destiny Slocum, Oregon State, sophomore
Alanna Smith, Stanford, senior