Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Hunter Dickinson (Michigan), and Drew Timme (Gonzaga) are among the college basketball players headlining the Wooden Award Watch list.
The top three schools in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll each have three selections on the Preseason Top 50: Gonzaga (Chet Holmgren, Andrew Nembhard, and Timme), UCLA (Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang), and Kansas (Ochai Agbaji, Remy Martin, and David McCormack). Several other schools boast multiple players on the list:
Alabama (Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford), Baylor (Adam Flagler and Matthew Mayer), Duke (Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams), Illinois (Cockburn and Andre Curbelo), Kentucky (Kellan Grady and TyTy Washington Jr.), Memphis (Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren), Michigan (Dickinson and Caleb Houstan), North Carolina (Armando Bacot and Dawson Garcia), and Purdue (Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams).
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 35 are upperclassmen, including 17 seniors. The recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with nine name to the Preseason Top 50: Patrick Baldwin Jr. (UW-Milwaukee), Banchero (Duke), Bates (Memphis), Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee), Duren (Memphis), Holmgren (Gonzaga), Houstan (Michigan), Jabari Smith (Auburn), and Washington (Kentucky).
The Preseason Top 50 represents 12 conferences. The Big Ten leads all conferences with ten selections, followed by the SEC with eight, the Big 12 with seven, the ACC with six, the Pac-12 and American with five each, the WCC with three, the Big East with two, and the Atlantic 10, Summit League, Mountain West, and Horizon with one selection apiece. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2022 John R. Wooden Award Men’s
Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. 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 2022 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.
John R. Wooden Award
Presented by Wendy’s
Preseason Top 50
Name School Conference Height Class Position
Max Abmas Oral Roberts Summit League 6-0 Jr. G
Ochai Agbaji Kansas Big 12 6-5 Sr. G
Keve Aluma Virginia Tech ACC 6-9 Sr. F
Eric Ayala Maryland Big Ten 6-5 Sr. G
Armando Bacot North Carolina ACC 6-10 Jr. F/C
Patrick Baldwin Jr. UW-Milwaukee Horizon 6-9 Fr. G
Paolo Banchero Duke ACC 6-10 Fr. F
Emoni Bates Memphis American 6-9 Fr. F
Buddy Boeheim Syracuse ACC 6-6 Sr. G
Matt Bradley San Diego State Mountain West 6-4 Sr. G
Tyger Campbell UCLA Pac-12 5-11 Jr. G
Marcus Carr Texas Big 12 6-2 Sr. G
Julian Champagnie St. John’s Big East 6-8 Jr. G/F
Kennedy Chandler Tennessee SEC 6-0 Fr. G
Kofi Cockburn* Illinois Big Ten 7-0 Jr. C
Andre Curbelo Illinois Big Ten 6-1 Soph G
Kendric Davis SMU American 6-0 Sr. G
Hunter Dickinson* Michigan Big Ten 7-1 Soph C
Jalen Duren Memphis American 6-11 Fr. C
Tyson Etienne Wichita State American 6-2 Soph G
Adam Flagler Baylor Big 12 6-3 Jr. G
Dawson Garcia North Carolina ACC 6-11 Soph F
Collin Gillespie Villanova Big East 6-3 Sr. G
Kellan Grady Kentucky SEC 6-5 Sr. G
Ron Harper Jr. Rutgers Big Ten 6-6 Sr. G/F
Chet Holmgren Gonzaga WCC 7-0 Fr. C
Caleb Houstan Michigan Big Ten 6-8 Fr. G/F
Jaden Ivey Purdue Big Ten 6-4 Soph G
Trayce Jackson-Davis Indiana Big Ten 6-9 Jr. F
Jaime Jaquez Jr. UCLA Pac-12 6-7 Jr. G/F
Johnny Juzang UCLA Pac-12 6-7 Jr. G
E.J. Liddell Ohio State Big Ten 6-7 Jr. F
Kyle Lofton St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 6-3 Sr. G
Remy Martin Kansas Big 12 6-0 Sr. G
Matthew Mayer Baylor Big 12 6-9 Sr. G/F
David McCormack Kansas Big 12 6-10 Sr. F
Isaiah Mobley USC Pac-12 6-10 Jr. F
Iverson Molinar Mississippi State SEC 6-3 Jr. G
Andrew Nembhard Gonzaga WCC 6-5 Sr. G
Scotty Pippen Jr. Vanderbilt SEC 6-3 Jr. G
Jahvon Quinerly Alabama SEC 6-1 Jr. G
Will Richardson Oregon Pac-12 6-5 Sr. G
Marcus Sasser Houston American 6-2 Jr. G
Jaden Shackelford Alabama SEC 6-3 Jr. G
Terrence Shannon Jr. Texas Tech Big 12 6-6 Jr. G
(Release via Wooden Award)
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