Derik Queen Shines Bright as He Joins Prestigious Wooden Award Top 25 Watch List

COLLEGE PARK, MD – The freshman center for Maryland, Derik Queen, has been recognized as one of the 25 players on the Wooden Award Watch List. This listing comprises 25 student-athletes who are in competition for the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Most Outstanding Player Award.

Queen aspires to be the first Terp selected for the Wooden Award All-American team since Greivis Vazquez in 2010.

The local talent from Baltimore tops the Terps with an average of 16.0 points per game, while achieving a shooting percentage of 56.2%. Queen ranks eighth in the Big Ten for rebounds per game with an average of 8.0. Notably, he recorded a season-high of 26 points at Purdue on Dec. 8, achieving 20 or more points in five different games. Furthermore, Queen has secured double-figure rebounds in five outings as well and ranks second on the team with five double-doubles.

All 25 student-athletes are eligible to be included in the late-season list and the National Ballot. The National Ballot includes the top 15 players who have demonstrated to their institutions that they meet or surpass the criteria of the Wooden Award®. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank 10 of those 15 players when the voting opens ahead of the NCAA Tournament. The announcement of the Wooden Award All American Team will take place during the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The recipient of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award, sponsored by Principal, will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in April.

Established in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award ProgramTM at the Los Angeles Athletic Club presents the most esteemed accolades in college basketball, acknowledging The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player, The Wooden Award All America Teams for both men and women, along with the yearly selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Wooden Award® All Americans have shown to their institution that they fulfill or exceed the criteria for the John R. Wooden Award® as established by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award® Steering Committee. Notable previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), along with the recent two year’s (’23 &’24) recipient, Zach Edey.