University of Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith has been selected to the National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Saturday afternoon. The National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All-American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.
Van Lith has been the catalyst for the Cardinals all season long and leads the team with 19.6 points per game and is second with 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Her 19.6 points per game is third in the ACC and ranks 23rd nationally. She ranks 17th nationally in minutes played (37.0), 12th in points (607) and 17th in field goals made (215). She has scored in double-figures in 29 of her 31 games played this year and has scored 20 or more points 16 times this year.
One of her best games of the season came in a road win over Florida State on Jan. 15. She scored 20 points, set a career high with eight assists, also had a career high with five steals and had eight rebounds. In the final minute, Van Lith hit a jumper as the shot clock was expiring to put the game out of reach. She is the only Power 5 player this season to score at least 20 points, have at least eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals in a single game. She was named ACC Player of the Week after her performance at Florida State and earlier in the week she scored a season-high 29 points on the road against #13 Virginia Tech.
Recently, Van Lith has been on a hot streak as she has scored 17 or more points in each of her last eight games. She has scored 20 or more points in her last three games and has had multiple steals in four of her last seven games. She scored a game-high 26 points, including 17 in the first quarter, in the Cardinals 74-48 win over Wake Forest in the ACC Quarterfinals.
2023 Wooden Award National Ballot
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Ashley Jones, Iowa State
Haley Jones, Stanford
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
Diamond Miller, Maryland
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul
Alissa Pili, Utah
Maddy Siegrist, Villanoa
Hailey Van Lith, Louisville
All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 14th to March 21st, and voters take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The finalists for the 2023 Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s will be announced on March 29th.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All America Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees 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), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), and last year’s recipients, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund 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 Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament 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 Legends of Coaching Award will be presented to Coach Dawn Staley, the 2023 recipient, along with the Wooden Award Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 7, 2023. For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
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