LOS ANGELES, Calif. – LSU’s Angel Reese was named on the midseason top 25 watchlist for the John R. Wooden Award Wednesday night by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on ESPN2 as one of the top players in the country.
Reese has led LSU to a 14-0 record and the Tigers face Texas A&M at home Thursday at 8 p.m. CT on the SEC Network with a chance to match the best start in program history.
Playing as one of the best players in the nation, Reese leads the country with 14 double-doubles, recording one every game this season for LSU. She leads the SEC averaging 23.9 points per game (6th in NCAA) and she leads the country hauling in 14.9 rebounds per game. She has the longest double-double streak at LSU since Sylvia Fowles had 19 in a row during the 2006-07 season.
Reese has scored at least 20 points in 10 of the past 11 games, including a stretch of nine straight game as she was the first Tiger to accomplish that feat since Seimone Augustus during her senior season on her way to winning her second consecutive Wooden Award.
There was a five-game stretch earlier in the season where Reese had 15+ rebounds in five consecutive games.
Reese was named ESPN’s National Player of the Week following LSU’s final week of non-conference play as she put together three dominant and historic performances.
In LSU’s win over Lamar, Reese did something that no pro or college basketball player has done in at least the past 20 years per @OptaStats on twitter. Reese is the only NBA, WNBA or Division I men’s or women’s player in the last 20 years to have at least 30+ points, 15+ rebounds, 4+ assists, 4+ steals and shoot over 80-percent in the same game.
With 30-point games against Lamar and Montana St., Reese became the first LSU player since Elaine Powell in the 1995-96 season with consecutive 30+ point games.
In LSU’s win over Oregon State, Reese recorded the 20th 20/20 in LSU history. Reese joined
Maree Jackson (12 20/20 games), Fowles (4), Julie Gross (2) and Cornelia Gayden (1) as the fifth Tiger in the 20/20 club. It was LSU’s first 20/20 since Fowles had 24 and 20 against Tennessee in the 2008 Final Four.
She also surpassed 1,000 career points against Oregon State after playing two season at Maryland before transferring to LSU for this season.
That same week, Reese won her most recent of three SEC Player of the Week honors.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award 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. 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 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.