KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® Midseason Top 25 Watch List, and Tennessee’s Rennia Davis is among the players in consideration.
Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2020-21 season thus far, the list consists of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.
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 or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ National Ballot.
Davis, a 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward from Jacksonville, Fla., is averaging 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line. After a slow start this season, the SEC’s second-leading returning scorer has put up 15.7 ppg. and 10.7 rpg. with a pair of double-doubles over the past three contests. She has hit 59.4 percent (19-32) from the field, 60.0 (3-5) on threes and 100.0 (6-6) on free throws during that span, which included an upset of No. 15 Indiana in Bloomington on Dec. 17.
In the most recent game vs. Lipscomb, Davis helped UT improve to 6-1 on the season with a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double. It marked the 32nd of her career, tying her for sixth in Lady Vol history with hall-of-famer Tamika Catchings.
Davis is on her way to becoming one of only five Lady Vols who rank in the top 10 in both career scoring and rebounding average. The others are Patricia Roberts, Chamique Holdsclaw, Candace Parker and Catchings. She also is in the process of becoming only the 13th UT woman to average double figures in scoring all four years of her career.
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 Legends 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; ’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
