(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) The Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, announced its Preseason Top 50 Watch List on www.WoodenAward.com and Marquette senior Kam Jones was among those players selected. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
Kam Jones Preseason Recognition (as of 11/7/24)
- Unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST First team selection in 2024-25
- Named to Jerry West Award Preseason Watch List
- One of 20 players on NABC Division I Player of the Year preseason list
- Named to Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy National POW preseason list
- Named to 2024-25 John R. Wooden Award Top 50 Preseason Watch List
Two-time Wooden Award All American™ Hunter Dickinson (Kansas in 2024 & Michigan in 2021) headlines the Preseason Top 50, along with RJ Davis (UNC in 2024) and Caleb Love (Arizona in 2024). Kansas leads all schools with four students on the Wooden Watch List: KJ Adams, Dickinson, Dejuan Harris, and AJ Storr. Two schools lead with three selections on the Preseason Top 50: Alabama (Grant Nelson, Cliff Omoruyi, and Mark Sears) and Baylor (VJ Edgecomb, Norchad Omier, and Jeremy Roach). Several other schools boast multiple players on the
list: Connecticut (Alex Karaban and Liam McNeeley), Gonzaga (Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard), Houston (L.J. Cryer and J’Wan Roberts) and Rutgers (Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper).
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 41 are upperclassmen, including 22 seniors & 19 juniors, and two are graduate students. Two sophomores were named to the list and the recent trend of recognizing outstanding freshmen continues with five named to the Preseason Top 50.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award® Men’s Player of the Year. 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 Tournament 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 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, will be presented at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in April.
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