Rhyne Howard named to Wooden Award Late Season Watch List

Kentucky Basketball is crowding the Wooden Award on both the men’s and women’s sides this year.

On Monday night, UK Women’s Basketball senior guard Rhyne Howard was named to the Wooden Award Top 20 Late Season Watch List for the third season in a row. Last week, the 6-foot-2 native of Cleveland, TN, was tabbed to the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.

Howard is having another incredible year, averaging 20.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks for the Wildcats on 44.3 percent shooting from the floor. Her last four outings — all against SEC foes — saw her drop 24 points, 29, 25, and 23 consecutively.

For the third year in a row, @howard_rhyne has been named to the @WoodenAward Midseason Top 20 Watch List!#CrownHer 👑 pic.twitter.com/gYI7UWaVGa

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) February 1, 2022

Here is how the Wooden Award winner will be decided, per UK Athletics.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2022 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the late season 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. 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.

UK Athletics

In what will likely be her final season at Kentucky, the future top pick in the WNBA Draft has already broken several records. Most recently, she hit the 2,000 career point mark, the third in program history to do as such and the third-quickest of either the men’s and women’s programs to reach that mark. A game later, she surpassed A’dia Mathies for the program’s second-most points.

Unfortunately, Kentucky hasn’t performed up to standards as a collective unit. The ‘Cats are just 9-9 on the season and 2-6 in conference play, including losses in six of its last seven contests. UK is currently not projected to make the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN, with eight more games on the schedule before the SEC Tournament begins.

Wooden Award Top 20 Late Season Watch List

Shakira Austin – Ole Miss
Kierstan Bell – Florida Gulf Coast
Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
Cameron Brin – Stanford
Caitlin Clark – Iowa
Elissa Cunane – NC State
Destanni Henderson – South Carolina
Naz Hillmon – Michigan
Mackenzie Holmes – Indiana
Jordan Horston – Tennessee
Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
Ashley Joens – Iowa State
Haley Jones – Stanford
Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech
Ayoka Lee – Kansas State
Aneesah Morrow – DePaul
Charisma Osborne – UCLA
Ashley Owusu – Maryland
Angel Reese – Maryland
NaLyssa Smith – Baylor