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Jones Named to Naismith, Wade Watch Lists

The prestigious Naismith Trophy Watch List is comprised of 50 of the best players from across the country in DI women’s basketball.
Credit: KAGS-TV

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M women's basketball's N'dea Jones earned spots on the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy and 2021 Wade Trophy watch lists, as announced on Tuesday.

The prestigious Naismith Trophy Watch List is comprised of 50 of the best players from across the country in DI women’s basketball. The Wade Trophy Watch List features 33 players in the running for women’s college basketball’s best player.

Jones was fourth in the country and led the Southeastern Conference in total rebounds (351) last season. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native was named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team, and saw her name on the Katrina McClain Watch List for the second-consecutive year this past week. This is the first time the senior has been named to either watch list.

 

About the Naismith Trophy

Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the most outstanding men’s and women’s college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men’s and women’s college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA’s Lew Alcindor received the first Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women’s recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include Jersey Mike’s and Werner Ladder.

 

The midseason 30 team will be announced in early February; players who do not make the watch list are still eligible to be selected for the midseason 30 team. Then, the competition will be narrowed down to 10 national semifinalists on March 2, 2021, and four finalists will be named on March 19, 2021. The winner of the 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for Women’s Player of the Year will be announced on April 3, 2021.

 

About the Wade Trophy

The Wade Trophy — now in its 44th year — is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women’s basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. First awarded in 1978 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America, the Wade Trophy has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I National Player of the Year since 2001.

 

The “Wade Watch” list of candidates for the Wade Trophy is composed of players selected by the WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Selection Committee. The committee will review the list midseason to determine if additional players will be added based on their play during the first half of the 2020-21 season.

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