LOS ANGELES, Calif. (March 28, 2018) – The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the 2018 John R. Wooden Award® Presented By Wendy’s® All American Team during a 30-minute show on ESPNU today (8 pm ET). The Wooden Award All American Team™ is made up of five student athletes who were the top vote-getters in the quest to earn college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The five-player team, alphabetically, consists of: Asia Durr (Louisville), Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Katie Lou Samuelson (Connecticut), Gabby Williams (Connecticut), and A’ja Wilson (South Carolina). All five players are invited to Los Angeles for the Wooden Award™ presentation during the ESPN College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s®.

Voting took place from March 13-20, 2018, allowing voters to take into consideration the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. As insisted upon by Coach Wooden at the Award’s creation 42 years ago, all players have been certified by their universities as meeting or exceeding the criteria of the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s®.

The 42nd annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men’s and women’s most outstanding college basketball player will be the anchor presentation of the ESPN College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s on ESPN2 on Friday, April 6, 2018. The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All American Teams will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2018 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to Jay Wright, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Villanova.

About the John R. Wooden Award

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best basketball player at an NCAA Division I university who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress towards graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 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), and last year’s recipients, Kelsey Plum of Washington and Frank Mason III of Kansas.

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.

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John R. Wooden Award Presented By Wendy’s

2017-18 Women’s All American Team

Name School Conference Height Class Position Asia Durr Louisville ACC 5-10 Jr. G Sabrina Ionescu Oregon Pac-12 5-11 Soph. G Katie Lou Samuelson# Connecticut The American 6-3 Jr. G/F Gabby Williams Connecticut The American 5-11 Sr. F A'ja Wilson# South Carolina SEC 6-5 Sr. F

# indicates player was selected as a 2016-17 Wooden Award All American