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Olsen, Stuelke Named to Wooden Award Watch List

Sports

November 8th, 2024 by Christian Adams

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior guard Lucy Olsen and junior forward Hannah Stuelke were named to the 2024-25 John R. Wooden Award Top 50 Preseason Watch List on Thursday.

Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.

Olsen competed the previous three seasons at Villanova University. The Collegeville, Pennsylvania, native was third in the country in scoring (23.3 ppg) last season behind Caitlin Clark and USC’s JuJu Watkins. She scored over 20 points in 25 games this season, including surpassing 30 points in 10 of those games, with a career-high of 40 points against Temple. Additionally, she averaged 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She was named Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press. Olsen also highlighted the All-Big East by earning first team accolades and the Most Improved Player Award last season.

Stuelke returns to the Hawkeyes after a pair of successful campaigns. During her sophomore season, she earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media. Stuelke averaged 14.0 ppg while shooting better than 62-percent from the field. As freshman, she earned Sixth Player of the Year honors.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award® Women’s Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award® midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award®. Wooden Award™ voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during the tournament’s early round games. The Wooden Award All-American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, will be presented at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11, 2025.