Jocelyn Willoughby Named to the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –Virginia women’s basketball senior guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) has been named to the watch list for the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, as announced today (Oct. 22) by the The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Named after the first player, male or female, named to the All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the annual award in its third year recognizes the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. There are 20 players who have been named to the preseason watch list.
Willoughby, a Preseason All-ACC selection, finished last season ranked seventh in the conference in rebounding (8.2 per game) and 13th in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game, the first player to lead the Cavaliers in both categories since Monica Wright did so in 2010. Willoughby was named to the 2019 Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-District III team, the first UVA women’s basketball player to earn the honor since Jenny Boucek in 1996. She became the 35th player in program history to score 1,000 points in her career and was voted to the All-ACC Academic Team for the third-straight year.
“Annie Meyers was one of the most dominant players in the college game, surpassing records held by both men and women,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “As we evaluate the talent in the game today, it’s only right we honor her and utilize her expertise. This year’s list of candidates may be the strongest yet and selecting a winner will be no easy task. We invite the fans to cast their votes and weigh-in alongside our committee members.”
The Selection Committee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
The winner of the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Asia Durr, Louisville (2019) and Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (2018).
For more information on the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MeyersAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 25. CLICK HERE TO CAST YOUR VOTE
2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates*
Aari McDonald | Arizona |
Chelsea Dungee | Arkansas |
Juicy Landrum | Baylor |
Christyn Williams | Connecticut |
Lauren Loven | Denver |
Becca Hittner | Drake |
Haley Gorecki | Duke |
Kathleen Doyle | Iowa |
Taylor Mikesell | Maryland |
Destiny Pitts | Minnesota |
Aislinn Konig | NC State |
Lindsey Pulliam | Northwestern |
Taylor Robertson | Oklahoma |
Minyon Moore | Oregon |
Erica Ogwumike | Rice |
Kiana Williams | Stanford |
Stephanie Watts | USC |
Jocelyn Willoughby | Virginia |
Amber Melgoza | Washington |
Tynice Martin | West Virginia |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season