bria-holmes-woodenaward-111715.jpg
Holmes Named to Wooden Award Top 30 List
November 17, 2015 01:44 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University women’s basketball senior guard Bria Holmes was named to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30 list, as announced on ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPNW on Tuesday. The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The list is chosen by a preseason poll of national women’s college basketball media members.
This is the second year that Holmes was named to the preseason watch list, after earning that distinction in 2014. The New Haven, Connecticut, native was named to the 2015 Preseason All-Big 12 team. Holmes is a two-time unanimous All-Big 12 selection and a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention.
“Bria Holmes is a tremendous player for our program,” said coach Mike Carey. “There is no doubt she is one of the best players in the country. She is deserving of this recognition.”
On Monday, Holmes registered a game-high 23 points in the Mountaineers 96-64 victory over Coppin State. The senior co-captain now sits No. 14 on WVU’s all-time scoring list with 1,444 points and is 61 away from reaching the top 10.
Holmes join’s Baylor’s Nina Davis and Niya Johnson as the Big 12 players represented on the watch list.
2015 John R. Wooden Award winner Breanna Stewart of Connecticut headlines this year’s preseason Top 30 list and is looking to become the fifth women’s player to win the award twice. Two other 2015 Wooden Award All Americans join Stewart on the list: Davis of Baylor and Tiffany Mitchell of South Carolina.
The defending NCAA champion Huskies feature three players on the list: Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck and Stewart. Along with Connecticut, South Carolina also has three candidates (Alaina Coates, Mitchell and A’ja Wilson). Baylor, Duke, Florida State, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas A&M each have a pair of players selected.
Seven conferences are represented on the list with the SEC boasting seven selections, followed by the ACC and Big Ten with six apiece. The American Athletic Conference has four selections, the Big 12 and Pac-12 have three apiece and the Atlantic 10 has one pick. Of the players on the Preseason Top 30 list, 23 out of 30 are upperclassmen, including 12 seniors. No freshman made the list. Interestingly, two players named Courtney Williams made the list (South Florida, Texas A&M).
Players not chosen to the preseason list are eligible for the midseason list and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team, consisting of the nation’s top five players, will be announced the week of the Final Four.
NCAA Second Round Press Conference | Kellogg, Harrison, Shaw
Monday, March 23
NCAA First Round Recap
Sunday, March 22
Mark Kellogg, Meme Wheeler & Jordan Harrison | NCAA First Round vs. Miami (OH)
Saturday, March 21
NCAA Tournament Trailer
Friday, March 20
