LSU WBB: Four Tigers Land on Wooden Award Watchlist

Angel Reese headlines quartet of Tigers to earn the nod, most players from one team to make the list.

LSU had the most players on the Wooden Award Watchlist on Tuesday with Angel Reese, Flau’Jae Johnson, Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow on the list.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Principal. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. LSU freshman Mikaylah Williams has certainly looked like a player that could make an appearance on the list later on, scoring 42 points on Tuesday which is the most by a LSU freshman during the NCAA era. Sa’Myah Smith has also looked like a player for LSU that could play her way onto the watchlist, averaging 16.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Reese is an All-American and led LSU to the national championship last season. She has three double-doubles this season and 37 while at LSU, the second most in program history. She is averaging 17.0 points and 10.3 rebounds through the early part of the season.

Johnson was last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year on LSU’s national championship winning team. She missed Sunday’s game with flu-like symptoms, but came out on Tuesday to score10 points with 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Through three games, Johnson is averaging 8.7 points per game.

Hailey Van Lith is in her first season at LSU. Having played mainly shooting guard at Louisville, Van Lith is transitioning to play more of the point guard at LSU. A previous All-America honorable mention, Van Lith is averaging 10.8 points and 5.3 assists to just 1.8 turnovers per game.

Morrow, a junior, was the national freshman of the year at DePaul and an All-American. Finding her groove at LSU, she had her best performance to date on Tuesday with 17 points off the bench to go along with 9 steals (one shy of the LSU record), 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Morrow is averaging 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds 3.3 steals and 1.5 blocks through four games.