ATLANTA — The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced the All-Region nominees for the 2018 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team on Thursday, and Tennessee seniors Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell are on that list for Region 2.

The selection committee will choose the 10-member WBCA All-America Team from a group of 52 candidates.

The Lady Vol standouts were among 10 players on the list from Region 2. The others were Caliya Robinson of Georgia; Teaira McCowan, Victoria Vivians and Morgan William of Mississippi State; Sophie Cunningham of Missouri; Tyasha Harris and A’ja Wilson of South Carolina; and Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M. This marked Russell’s second time earning this distinction.

Nared, a 6-foot-2 forward from Portland, Ore., led Tennessee in scoring at 16.7 points per game in 2017-18 and was third with 7.4 rebounds per contest. She also ranked first in steals (73), second in three-pointers made (27), third in assists (84) and third in blocks (20), while leading the Lady Vols in free throw percentage (.820), free throws made (169) and free throws attempted (206).

With 19 double-doubles during her career, Nared’s 10 this season ranked her sixth among SEC players and seventh-most ever by a Lady Vol senior. She finished second all-time at UT in a season in free throws made (169) and 10th in free throws attempted (206), while standing fifth in career free throws made (429) and fifth in career free throw percentage (.827). Her scoring average of 16.7 is the eighth-highest all-time of any Lady Vol senior and her career point total of 1,460 ranks No. 26 on UT’s scoring list.

Nared finished fourth in the SEC in steals this season (2.2 spg.), ninth in scoring (16.7 ppg.), ninth in free throw percentage (.820), 10th in minutes played (33.4) and 14th in rebounding (7.4 rpg.). She was named All-SEC First Team by the coaches and second team by the media, MVP of the Cancun Challenge and a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award. She also was named USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week, a two-time SEC Player of the Week, a two time College Sports Madness National Player of the Week and a three-time College Sports Madness SEC Player of the Week.

Russell, a 6-foot-6 center from Springfield, Ore., averaged 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest, ranking second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding. She also ranked first in field goal percentage (.583) and blocked shots (44), while standing third in steals (39), fifth in free throw percentage (.682) and sixth in assists (27). Her 1,597 points and 1,085 rebounds rank her 16th and third, respectively on the Lady Vol career lists and her rebound average (9.2) is the fifth-highest ever recorded by a UT senior.

With her UT senior-record 16th double-double of the season in her final game, Russell finished with 46 for her career to wind up second behind only Chamique Holdsclaw (57). Her .583 field goal percentage is ninth-best in a single season, while her field goal percentage (.570), blocks (195) and rebound average (8.0) ranked her fifth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

An All-SEC First Team selection and finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, Russell is fourth in double-doubles among league players this season with 16. She ranks fourth in rebounds (9.2), fifth in field goal percentage (.583), eight in blocked shots (1.3), 13th in scoring (15.3) and 15th in minutes played (32.7).

The selection committee uses an equation to determine an equitable number of nominees from each region. The number of NCAA Division I institutions in each region is divided by the number of NCAA Division I institutions overall to determine a percentage for each region. This percentage is then multiplied by 52 (the total number of desired finalists) to get the number of finalists for each region.

The 2018 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America team will be announced Thursday, March 29, during the WBCA Convention in Columbus, Ohio.

Visit www.wbca.org/recognize/ to see a list of past WBCA Coaches’ All-America teams.

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From the Knoxville Quarterback Club

Roy Kramer, who spearheaded the first expansion of the SEC and helped orchestra the formation of the Bowl Championship Series, has been selected as the winner of the prestigious Robert R. Neyland Award for contributions to college football.

Dr. Jerry Punch, who has covered college football for ESPN for 22 years, has been selected as the winner of the Lindsey Nelson Award, which goes to an outstanding broadcaster who has helped advance the game of college football.

Both awards are presented by the Knoxville Quarterback Club.

“It’s very special because of who General Neyland was,” said Kramer, a graduate of Maryville College. “There have been some great icons in coaching through the years. Coach Neyland stands at the top of the group of icons. He was one of the great defensive coaches – if not the greatest – of all time.

“Whoever heard of having an undefeated, untied, unscored on team (1939). That doesn’t happen today. That old 6-2-2-1 was quite a defense.”

After a stint in the Army, Kramer went to the state of Michigan to get his Masters and got a high school football coaching job at Battle Creek. He coached in high school for 12 years, where he won a state championship, then at Central Michigan for 13 years, where he won a Division II national title in 1974. As a head coach, he was 58-14-3 in high school and 83-32-2 in college.

“I loved coaching in high school,” Kramer said. “You take what’s  there (personnel wise). You’re kind of a victim to how the genes were running 16-17 years ago. You do more coaching from the standpoint of teaching the game in high school than in college.”

He served as athletic director at Vanderbilt from 1978-90, then became the sixth commissioner of the SEC, where he served from 1990-2002. Within seven months of taking over as SEC Commissioner, the league announced plans for expansion, adding Arkansas and South Carolina.

During his time overseeing the SEC, the league won 81 national titles – at the time the most ever in a 10-year period.

Asked his highlights as SEC commissioner, Kramer, with his dry sense of humor, said, “I’m  not sure. If you read my mail, there weren’t any.”

Kramer said he was proud of the success of the SEC football championship game and the growth of the conference in all sports.

Kramer felt the BCS was important to college football.

“There was great concern at the time that the college game had taken a back seat, as for as interest, to the NFL,” Kramer said. “We needed to add some excitement.”

The three-fold goal of the BCS was to match the top two teams in a bowl game, expand interest in the college game and preserve the bowl structure.

“I think it did that successfully,” Kramer said.

Kramer joins an elite group of Neyland honorees that includes: Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Bobby Dodd, John Vaught, Bud Wilkinson, Shug Jordan, Darrell Royal, Frank Broyles, Vince Dooley, Bobby Bowden, Bo Schembechler, Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz, Mack Brown, Doug Dickey, Johnny Majors, Phillip Fulmer and David Cutcliffe.

The Neyland Award has been presented annually since 1967.

Punch, a North Carolina State graduate, has worked with ESPN for 34 years, focusing mainly on football and basketball games and NASCAR. He has covered football national championships and such bowl games as the Orange, Sugar, Outback, Alamo, Capital One and Holiday.

“I am humbled, honored and thrilled to be named the recipient of the Lindsey Nelson Award,” Punch said. “In my opinion, Lindsey Nelson was not just a broadcast legend — he was an original.  When you heard his elegant Tennessee voice and caught a glimpse of that psychedelic sports jacket, you knew instantly this had to be a big game.

“As a youngster growing up watching his Sunday morning replays of Notre Dame football, I never dreamed that I would one day receive an award named in his honor. It is hard to put into words just how special this is to me.

“Also, when I look at the many names of former colleague and broadcast mentors that have won this award in the past, I am even more grateful to be able to join the list of honorees. To have my name listed alongside the likes of Keith Jackson, Verne Lundquist, Brent Musburger, Lee Corso and others is truly a dream come true.”

Punch, who moved to Knoxville in 2003, won an Emmy Award in 1989 for the Indy 500 telecast. He won the ACE award for cable excellence on ESPN’s NASCAR Speedworld in 1988. He is the sixth-longest tenured announcer at ESPN. He was the NC State alumnus of the year in 2005 and the NASCAR Team Player of the Year in 1990.

Kramer and Punch will be honored April 21 at the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame brunch at The Foundry at 9:30 am. ET. They will also be recognized before Tennessee’s Orange and White game, which begins that afternoon at 2 ET.

The Nelson Award was first presented in 1998.

The Distinguished American Award will be presented to Dr. Bill Youmans, former UT team doctor.

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