Dixon Shines Bright: A Spot on the Wooden Award Midseason Watch List

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (January 7, 2025) – The John R. Wooden
Award® from the Los Angeles Athletic Club, sponsored by Principal, unveiled its 2024-25 Men’s Midseason Top 25 Watch List today
on www.WoodenAward.com.

Chosen by a preseason survey of national college basketball specialists, the list includes 25

student-athletes identified as contenders for the most esteemed accolades in college basketball: the

Wooden Award All-American Team™ and the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player.

Included in this selection is Villanova’s Eric Dixon (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington High School).

Former Wooden Award® All Americans Hunter Dickinson (Kansas 2024 & Michigan 2021) and RJ

Davis (North Carolina 2024) appear on  the list. Rutgers and Tennessee each have two

athletes featured on the Wooden Award® Midseason List.

The athletes included are regarded as strong prospects for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award®

Men’s Player of the Year. Those not chosen for the midseason list remain qualified for consideration on

the Wooden Award® late-season list and the National Ballot. The National Ballot will showcase 15 leading

players who have proven to their institutions that they fulfill or surpass the Wooden Award®

criteria.

Approximately 1,000 voters will be invited to rank 10 of the 15 players on the ballot based on their preferences

once voting commences during the NCAA Tournament. Voters will also take into account achievements in the

tournament’s initial rounds, players’ contributions to their teams, and their character. The Wooden

Award All-American Team™ will be revealed during the week of the NCAA Tournament’s “Elite

Eight.”

The winners and All Americans of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, sponsored by Principal,

will be recognized at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Friday, April 11, 2025.

About the John R. Wooden Award®

Established in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program™ at the Los Angeles Athletic Club signifies the

zenith of recognition in college basketball. It honors the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player

for both genders, the Wooden Award All-America™ Teams for both sexes, and

annually designates the Wooden Award® Legend of Coaching recipient.

Wooden Award® All-Americans have demonstrated to their colleges that they meet or exceed the

requirements of the John R. Wooden Award®, as defined by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award®

Steering Committee. These standards entail progress towards graduation and maintaining at

least a 2.0 cumulative GPA.

Previous winners comprise legends such as 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 latest recipients, Caitlin Clark of Iowa (’23, ’24) and Zach Edey of Purdue (’23, ’24).

Since its establishment, the John R. Wooden Award® has donated nearly one million dollars in

charitable contributions in honor of its All-American recipients and has facilitated more than 1,000

underprivileged children attending week-long college basketball camps. Wooden Award All-Americans are

invited to celebrate their personal charitable endeavors, for which the John R. Wooden Award

Foundation will make charitable donations in support of the character of the participant. Moreover, the John

R. Wooden Award® collaborates annually with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) to host the

Wooden Award® Special Olympics Basketball Day. This occasion brings together Special Olympics athletes with

Wooden Award® All-Americans and coaches during the Wooden Award® Weekend at the Los Angeles

Athletic Club.

The 2025 Wooden Award® Legends of Coaching honoree is Mark Few from Gonzaga, who will receive

his award alongside the 2025 Wooden Award® Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 11,

2025.

For the latest news, visit www.WoodenAward.com and follow the Wooden Award® on Facebook

at www.facebook.com/woodenaward, and on Twitter and Instagram at @WoodenAward.

For further information regarding Principal Financial Group and its sponsorship initiatives, visit their Sports

Partnerships and Sponsorships page.

The Midseason 25:

Airious “Ace” Bailey | Rutgers

Johni Broome | Auburn

Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida

RJ Davis | North Carolina

Hunter Dickinson | Kansas

Eric Dixon | Villanova

Jeremiah Fears | Oklahoma

Cooper Flagg | Duke

Keshon Gilbert | Iowa St

PJ Haggerty | Memphis

Dylan Harper | Rutgers

Josh Hubbard | Mississippi State

Kasparas Jakučionis | Illinois

Tre Johnson | Texas

Kam Jones | Marquette

Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton

Alex Karaban | UConn

Chaz Lanier | Tennessee

Ryan Nembhard | Gonzaga

Derik Queen | Maryland

Maxime Raynaud | Stanford

Mark Sears | Alabama

Braden Smith | Purdue

Wade Taylor IV | Texas A & M

Zakai Zeigler | Tennessee