LOS ANGELES – Kansas redshirt-junior Dedric Lawson has been named one of 15 to the 2019 men’s national ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Saturday. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the national ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Wooden Award Trophy selecting the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States. This is the fourth-straight year a Jayhawk has made the Wooden Award final ballot. In 2016, KU’s Perry Ellis was named Wooden All-American. The following season Frank Mason III won the award. Last season, Devonte’ Graham was one of five finalists for the Wooden Award, also earning Wooden All-American honors. Lawson leads the Big 12 in scoring at 19.0 ppg, rebounding at 10.5 rpg and with 19 double-doubles. A national player of the year and All-American candidate, the Memphis, Tennessee, forward has 14 games of 20 or more points and his 19 double-doubles and are tied for sixth nationally. Lawson is the only player in the league averaging a double-double. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week (11/12, 11/26, 12/26) and five-time league newcomer of the week (12/3, 12/17, 1/14, 1/28, 2/11), Lawson leads KU with 30 blocked shots and his 1.0 blocks per game are fifth in the conference. His 49.3 field goal percentage is ninth in the league. Besides Mason in 2017, KU’s Danny Manning won the Wooden Award in 1988. All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season. Voting will take place from March 18th to March 25th, and voters, consisting of nearly 1,000 members of the national college basketball media, take into consideration a player’s entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Fans may vote through a fan voting site, sponsored by Wendy’s, at www.woodenawardvote.com. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top ten players, and the five finalists for the Wooden Award, which is widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on April 3rd on ESPNU at 5:30 p.m. (CT). The 43rd 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 12, 2019. The men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award All American Team will be honored during the ceremony, and the 2019 Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Trophy will be presented to Lon Kruger, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Oklahoma. Dedric Lawson 2018-19 Honors Wooden Award Final Ballot (1 of 15) Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Finalist (1 of 5) Naismith Trophy Semifinalist (1 of 10) Naismith Trophy Midseason Team (1 of 30) Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Watch List (1 of 10) Oscar Robertson Trophy Final Midseason Watch List (1 of 12) The Sporting News Midseason All-America First Team Wooden Award Midseason Watch List (1 of 25) 3x Big 12 Player of the Week (11.12, 11.26, 12.26) 5x Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (12.2, 12.17, 1.14, 1.28, 2.11) Oscar Robertson Midseason Watch List (1 of 20) NIT Season Tip-Off Most Valuable Player Wooden Award Preseason Watch List (1 of 50) NABC Player of the Year candidate (1 of 20) Preseason Associated Press All-America Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Candidate (1 of 20) Preseason All-Big 12 First Team FOLLOW @KUHoops /KansasBasketball @KUHoops KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.<doc-sep>Lance King/Getty Images Duke freshman forwards Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett lead a group of 15 athletes on the short list for the John R. Wooden Award, according to the Associated Press. Wooden honors are bestowed upon the nation's most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players each season. The Los Angeles Athletic Club, which gives out the annual award, will present the winner on April 12. Williamson is the heavy favorite even though he's been out since suffering a Grade 1 knee sprain against North Carolina on Feb. 20. The 6'7", 285-pound forward has averaged 21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. He has registered the highest player efficiency rating in men's Division I hoops over the past 10 years, per Sports Reference. Williamson is simply an amazing player to watch. He's seemingly good for one jaw-dropping power dunk per game, but the excellent two-way player is also a defensive force, as this block against Virginia proved: Duke has gone 23-2 in the 25 full games Williamson has played this season. He left the aforementioned UNC contest after just 36 seconds. Video Play Button Videos you might like Barrett has proved to be a dominant scorer, averaging 23.3 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting. He's also filled out the stat sheet with 7.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Sean Farnham of ESPN revealed how remarkable Barrett's season has been with this statistic: Barrett may have been the favorite in other years, but Williamson has simply been sensational ever since he's stepped on the court. Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura of Gonzaga are also candidates, and the AP listed the other 11 players up for the award: "The other contenders are Jarrett Culver of Texas Tech, Mike Daum of South Dakota State, Carsen Edwards of Purdue, Ethan Happ of Wisconsin, Markus Howard of Marquette, De'Andre Hunter of Virginia, Dedric Lawson of Kansas, Ja Morant of Murray State, PJ Washington of Kentucky, Grant Williams of Tennessee and Cassius Winston of Michigan State." Clarke is the wild card on the list. He's second in Division I with a 37.4 player efficiency rating and is scoring 16.6 points per game on 68.8 percent shooting. Like Williamson, Clarke is also an excellent defensive player, averaging 3.1 blocks per game. NBC/Rotoworld NBA analyst Tommy Beer pointed out that Clarke is on his way to a feat never accomplished on the D-I men's level in 25 years: The 6'8", 215-pound wing is on the No. 1 29-2 Gonzaga Bulldogs, who handed Duke its first loss of the year. The field of 15 will be narrowed down to 10 and then five before the official mid-April announcement.<doc-sep>Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura joined 13 others on the ballot for the Wooden Award Trophy for college basketball’s most outstanding player and the Wooden Award All-American team. Gonzaga and Duke are the only schools with a pair of candidates. The Blue Devils are represented by freshmen RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson. The latter has been the favorite for player of the year honors, but he’s been sidelined since Feb. 20 with a knee injury. Clarke makes his debut for Wooden Award consideration, while Hachumura was on Wooden preseason and midseason watch lists. Clarke, voted the West Coast Conference’s Defender and Newcomer of the Year, is second nationally with 99 blocks, a single-season Gonzaga record. The transfer from San Jose State swatted six shots in an 89-87 victory over Duke in the Maui Invitational championship game. Clarke averages 16.6 points and a team-leading 8.5 rebounds. He’s No. 1 nationally in field-goal shooting percentage (68.8) with Williamson second at 68.3. Hachimura, named the WCC Player of the Year, paces Gonzaga at 20.6 points and ranks second in rebounding at 6.7. He’s made 61.3 percent of his shots, including 46.7 beyond the 3-point line. Hachimura has scored at least 20 points in 19 games, with a career-high 33 in the season opener against Idaho State. Other finalists are Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, South Dakota State’s Mike Daum, Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, Marquette’s Markus Howard, Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter, Kansas’ Dedric Lawson, Murray State’s Ja Morant, Kentucky’s PJ Washington, Tennessee’s Grant Williams and Michigan State’s Cassius Winston. The Wooden Award All-American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, and the five finalists for the Wooden Award will be announced following the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. Voting for 1,000 media members takes place from March 18-25. Fans may vote at woodenawardvote.com.<doc-sep>PALO ALTO, CA - FEBRUARY 10: Oregon Guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) shoots a three over the defending Stanford Forward Lexie Hull (12) during the women's basketball game between the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion on February 10, 2019 in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Oregon guard earns another honor this week after winning top Pac-12 award Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon leads a lineup of 15 players who made the national ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Saturday. The 5-11 junior guard registered an NCAA record seven triple-doubles this season in posting averages of 19.4 points, 8.1 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game. She scored 18 points, tied her season-high with 12 rebounds and dished out six assists in the Ducks 88-83 overtime win over UCLA in the PAC-12 Tournament semifinal Saturday night. That came one night after she tied her own tournament record with 13 assists in Friday’s quarterfinal victory over Arizona. Twice this season she earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. Ionescu has been the most versatile in women’s college hoops over during her career. Last year, she won the Nancy Liberman Award, which goes to the country’s best point guard, and made numerous All-American teams. Over her three years in Eugene, she’s scored nearly 1,868 points, grabbed 723 rebounds and made 748 assists. The 17 triple-doubles are an NCAA career record for either men or women. She’s also a 43 percent shooter from beyond the 3-point arc. “I think what makes her special is that it’s not that she’s the most athletic or quickest,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “She’s extremely smart. She can score in a lot of different ways. She has a good midrange game. She’s got a good 3-point shot. She’s an extremely good passer. That makes a complete player.” Ionescu, two other 2018 Wooden All Americans on the ballot The Oregon star is one of three 2018 Wooden Award All Americans to be named on the 2019 ballot. She joins Louisville senior guard Asia Durr and Connecticut senior guard Katie Lou Samuelson, who will miss the American Athletic Conference tournament this weekend as she recovers from a back injury she suffered last weekend, from last year’s squad. This list also includes six conference player of the year winners. Besides Ionescu (Pac-12) and Durr (ACC), other award winners include Mississippi State senior center Teaira McCowan (SEC), Iowa State senior guard Bridget Carleton (Big 12), Iowa senior forward Megan Gustafson (Big Ten) and Connecticut senior forward Napheesa Collier. Bridget Carleton (@bridgecarleton) was named a Top-15 Finalist for the @WoodenAward today. She is now eligible to be considered for National Player of the Year. 🔗https://t.co/NRFTjVlu88 #MadeForThis pic.twitter.com/9zd1BT9fXF — Cyclone Basketball (@CycloneWBB) March 9, 2019 UConn isn’t the only school with two players on the ballot. Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale, a senior guard, and Jessica Shepard, a senior forward, made the list. Maryland junior guard Kalia Charles and Texas A&M sophomore guard Chennedy Carter join Ionescu as the only underclassmen on the ballot. Other players listed are California senior forward Kristine Anigwe, Baylor senior center Kalani Brown, Missouri senior guard Sophie Cunningham and Stanford senior forward Alanna Smith. The ballot now goes to a nationwide panel of experts who will cast their votes next week and can consider each player’s performance in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament before making their selections. The 2019 Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced after the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, and the Wooden Award will be presented on April 12 during a nationally televised college basketball awards show broadcast on ESPN2. A’ja Wilson of South Carolina won the award last season. Love our 24/7 women’s basketball coverage? 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Tennessee's Grant Williams received more national considerations Saturday, earning a spot on the Men's National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Williams, who was on the preseason and late season watch lists, was one of 15 players across the country selected as a potential honoree for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States. The reigning SEC Player of the Year has been one of the nation's most all-around players this season, averaging 19.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. The Charlotte, N.C., native is also shooting 57 percent from the field and an impressive 83 percent from the charity stripe. He ranks in the top 10 of the SEC in scoring (1st), field-goal percentage (2nd), free-throw percentage (3rd), rebounding (5th) and assist/turnover ratio (10th). So far this year, the junior forward was been tabbed a 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy Men's Player of the Year semifinalist, a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award semifinalist, a Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year finalist and was selected for the Oscar Robertson Trophy Final Midseason Watch List. Williams is joined by Kentucky's P.J. Washington as the only SEC players to make the team. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top ten players, and the five finalists for the Wooden Award, which is widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on April 3 on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. ET.