KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® announced the Women’s Preseason Top 30 Watch List on ESPN Tuesday, and Tennessee’s Rennia Davis is part of that outstanding group of players.
Davis, who is on the Wooden list for the third time, made a it a clean sweep of preseason watch lists. She previously was named to the 2020-21 Women’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy and Cheryl Miller Award preseason watch lists. She also is a preseason All-SEC First Team selection in squads chosen by the coaches and media and is No. 12 on ESPN’s list of top women’s college players this season.
The second-leading returning scorer in the SEC, Davis was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2020 as well as an All-America honorable mention recipient from the AP, USBWA and WBCA. She averaged 18.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 2019-20 while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 80.2 percent from the free throw line.
Davis averaged 19.9 ppg. and 8.0 rpg. vs. league foes in 2019-20. She hit 49.6% from the field and 82.8% at the charity stripe in 16 regular-season contests. Against nine ranked opponents, Davis tallied 19.8 ppg. and 7.0 rpg. and shot 43.8% on field goals and 84.2% on free throws vs. those teams.
The two-time All-SEC choice ranked fifth in the conference in rebounding last season at 8.2 rpg. and eighth in field goal percentage (.469) and stands No. 5 in both categories among returning players. She finished No. 4 in the SEC in free throw percentage at .802 a year ago and is No. 2 among returnees this season.
After one game in 2020-21, Davis is averaging 10.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest for the 1-0 Lady Vols, who will face ETSU on Tuesday night. UT is receiving votes in both the AP and USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
The list represents six conferences: The SEC leads all conferences with nine selections, followed by the Big 12 with five, and the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and PAC-12 with four selections apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. 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. 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 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07; ’08), Maya Moore (’09; ’11), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), Breanna Stewart (’15 and ’16) and last year’s recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Obi Toppin of Dayton.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
-UT Athletics
