MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee senior Amber Holt is one of 17 student-athletes named to the final 2008 Women's John R. Wooden Award ballot, as announced this week at The Los Angeles Athletic Club by John R. Wooden Award Chairman Richard "Duke" Llewellyn. The Wooden Award winner will be announced on Saturday, April 12, during a special ceremony at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.
A panel of more than 300 voters, comprised of sports media members and college basketball experts from around the nation, have until 3 p.m. EST on Monday, March 31, to cast their votes for the five-member women's All-American Team and Player of the Year, a long voting period that allows voters to evaluate players through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. All players on the ballots have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Holt is the nation's leading scorer for the ninth straight week and is the only player in the country currently leading her team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. The Duluth, Ga., native has been named to all three national player of the year award lists - the Wooden Award, the Wade Watch and the Naismith Award - and is the only player in the nation with a pair of 40-point games this season.
The Big East Conference had four players chosen to the women's slate, followed by the ACC, SEC and Big 12 with three, the Sun Belt with two, and the Pac-10 and Big Sky with one apiece.
The 2008 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winners, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of April 11-12. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university's general scholarship fund.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include LSU's Seimone Augustus and returning player Candace Parker of Tennessee.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the All-American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All-American players, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday of the John R. Wooden Award weekend.
For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact Christin Maxwell at 213-630-5291/woodenaward@laac.net or visit www.WoodenAward.com. Media may visit the website or contact Linda Reid at 310-291-9205/lindreid@aol.com.
Women's Wooden Award 2008 Official Ballot
Tina Charles, 6-4, SO, C, Connecticut
Natalie Doma, 6-3, SR, C, Idaho State
Sylvia Fowles, 6-6, SR, C, LSU
Amber Holt, 6-0, SR, F, Middle Tennessee
Tasha Humphrey, 6-3, SR, F, Georgia
Crystal Kelly, 6-3, SR, F, Western Kentucky
Crystal Langhorne, 6-2, SR, C/F, Maryland
Erlana Larkins, 6-1, SR, F, North Carolina
Angel McCoughtry, 6-1, JR, F, Louisville
Maya Moore, 6-0, FR, F, Connecticut
Courtney Paris, 6-4, JR, C, Oklahoma
Candace Parker, 6-4, JR, F, Tennessee
Epiphanny Prince, 5-9, SO, G, Rutgers
Andrea Riley, 5-5, SO, G, Oklahoma State
Angela Tisdale, 5-7, SR, G, Baylor
Kristi Toliver, 5-7, JR, G, Maryland
Candice Wiggins, 5-11, SR, G, Stanford