University Southern California Trojans
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/ Women's Basketball
Trojan Trio Lands On Wooden Award Preseason Watch List
November 07, 2024 | Women's Basketball
USC’s Kiki Iriafen, Talia von Oelhoffen and JuJu Watkins earn spots on another prestigious preseason watch list.
LOS ANGELES — USC women's basketball has a trio of Trojans on another prestigious preseason watch list with the naming of Kiki Iriafen, Talia von Oelhoffen and JuJu Watkins to the Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal.
A 6-3 forward who was named the 2024 Katrina McClain National Power Forward of the Year, Kiki Iriafen has joined the USC women's basketball program as a grad transfer out of Stanford. A 2024 All-America Honorable Mention recipient after a standout junior season with the Cardinal, Iriafen continues to raise the bar for herself with her first Naismith Watch List selection coming soon after her first pick as an AP Preseason All-American. n AP Preseason All-American, Iriafen also has been honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Watch list for 2024-25.
An All-Pac-12 Team selection at Oregon State, Talia von Oelhoffen helped the Beavers reach the NCAA Elite Eight last year and now starts her first season at USC with a spot on the Naismith Watch List as well as the Nancy Lieberman National Point Guard of the Year Award Watch List. A 5-11 guard, von Oelhoffen dished out 5.0 assists per game last season while averaging 10.7 points per game for the Beavers. She earned 2024 Pac-12 Defensive Honorable Mention and All-Pac-12 Team honors. She also has been honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Watch list for 2024-25.
A finalist for last year's Wooden Award, 6-2 guard JuJu Watkins was the National Freshman of the Year and the No. 2 scorer in the nation last season. She now enters her sophomore campaign with the Women of Troy having already tallied at least 30 points in 14 games — a USC single-season record. Watkins was a unanimous selection for this year's AP Preseason All-America list. Last year, she was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Shooting Guard of the Year. An AP Preseason All-American, Watkins also has been honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and the Anne Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watch list for 2024-25.
The players on the Wooden Award Watch List are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award® Women's Player of the Year. 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®. 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 the tournament's 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 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, will be presented at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11, 2025.
Iriafen, von Oelhoffen and Watkins join their USC teammates for the Trojans' home opener this weekend, as USC hosts Cal Poly at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 9) at Galen Center.
About the John R. Wooden Award®
Created in 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club 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 America™ Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award® Legend of Coaching recipient. Wooden Award® All Americans 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), Breanna Stewart ('15; '16), and the last two year's ('23 &'24) recipients, Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Zach Edey of Purdue.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award® has made charitable gifts of nearly one million dollars 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 basketball day. The event 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.
The Wooden Award® Legends of Coaching honoree for 2025 is Mark Few of Gonzaga who will be presented his honor along with the Wooden Award® Men's and Women's Players of the Year on April 11, 2025. For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award®, please go to http://www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award® on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
A 6-3 forward who was named the 2024 Katrina McClain National Power Forward of the Year, Kiki Iriafen has joined the USC women's basketball program as a grad transfer out of Stanford. A 2024 All-America Honorable Mention recipient after a standout junior season with the Cardinal, Iriafen continues to raise the bar for herself with her first Naismith Watch List selection coming soon after her first pick as an AP Preseason All-American. n AP Preseason All-American, Iriafen also has been honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Watch list for 2024-25.
An All-Pac-12 Team selection at Oregon State, Talia von Oelhoffen helped the Beavers reach the NCAA Elite Eight last year and now starts her first season at USC with a spot on the Naismith Watch List as well as the Nancy Lieberman National Point Guard of the Year Award Watch List. A 5-11 guard, von Oelhoffen dished out 5.0 assists per game last season while averaging 10.7 points per game for the Beavers. She earned 2024 Pac-12 Defensive Honorable Mention and All-Pac-12 Team honors. She also has been honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Watch list for 2024-25.
A finalist for last year's Wooden Award, 6-2 guard JuJu Watkins was the National Freshman of the Year and the No. 2 scorer in the nation last season. She now enters her sophomore campaign with the Women of Troy having already tallied at least 30 points in 14 games — a USC single-season record. Watkins was a unanimous selection for this year's AP Preseason All-America list. Last year, she was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Shooting Guard of the Year. An AP Preseason All-American, Watkins also has been honored on the Naismith Trophy Watch List and the Anne Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watch list for 2024-25.
The players on the Wooden Award Watch List are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award® Women's Player of the Year. 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®. 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 the tournament's 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 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, will be presented at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11, 2025.
Iriafen, von Oelhoffen and Watkins join their USC teammates for the Trojans' home opener this weekend, as USC hosts Cal Poly at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 9) at Galen Center.
About the John R. Wooden Award®
Created in 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club 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 America™ Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award® Legend of Coaching recipient. Wooden Award® All Americans 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), Breanna Stewart ('15; '16), and the last two year's ('23 &'24) recipients, Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Zach Edey of Purdue.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award® has made charitable gifts of nearly one million dollars 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 basketball day. The event 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.
The Wooden Award® Legends of Coaching honoree for 2025 is Mark Few of Gonzaga who will be presented his honor along with the Wooden Award® Men's and Women's Players of the Year on April 11, 2025. For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award®, please go to http://www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award® on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
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