CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – For the second straight year, Illinois fifth-year guard Makira Cook has earned a spot on the 2024-25 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List presented by AXIA Time, the Naismith Awards announced on Monday morning.
Cook is one of 50 women's basketball players nationally and one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes who were included on the prestigious award's preseason list.
A Preseason All-Big Ten honoree, Cook led the Fighting Illini in scoring with 16.4 points per game while finishing in double figures in 27 of her 31 appearances during the 2023-24 campaign. The Cincinnati native also posted a team-best 4.4 assists per game in her second season with the Orange and Blue last year.
Despite missing three games, Cook eclipsed the 500-point mark for the second straight season, which brought her over 1,000 points during her time at Illinois and above the 1,600-point mark during her collegiate career.
Cook led the team in scoring 14 times during the Illini's 2023-24 slate. Guiding Illinois to the inaugural WBIT championship, the program's first-ever postseason title, Cook was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player while scoring 27 points in the final and breaking the program's single-tournament scoring record (105 points).
An All-Big Ten selection in each of the last two seasons, Cook shot 40% from the field, 35.4% from 3-point range, and 85.4% from the free-throw line as a senior.
Cook is one of three Fighting Illini players in program history to land on the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year preseason watch list, with Tauja Catchings and Susan Blauser each earning a spot on the list ahead of the 1999-2000 season.
2024-25 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List*
Georgia Amoore
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Kentucky
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Alexis Markowski
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Nebraska
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Sarah Andrews
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Baylor
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Rayah Marshall
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USC
|
Sarah Ashlee Barker
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Alabama
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Cotie McMahon
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Ohio State
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Raegan Beers
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Oklahoma
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Olivia Miles
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Notre Dame
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Lauren Betts
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UCLA
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Aneesah Morrow
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LSU
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Madison Booker
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Texas
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S'Mya Nichols
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Kansas
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Paige Bueckers
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UConn
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Lucy Olsen
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Iowa
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Sonia Citron
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Notre Dame
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Te-Hina Paopao
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South Carolina
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Makira Cook
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Illinois
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Laila Phelia
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Texas
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Audi Crooks
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Iowa State
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JJ Quinerly
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West Virginia
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Yvonne Ejim
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Gonzaga
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Kiki Rice
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UCLA
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Azzi Fudd
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UConn
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Reigan Richardson
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Duke
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MiLaysia Fulwiley
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South Carolina
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Saniya Rivers
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NC State
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Rori Harmon
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Texas
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Emily Ryan
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Iowa State
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Hannah Hidalgo
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Notre Dame
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Madison Scott
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Ole Miss
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Kiki Iriafen
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USC
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Shyanne Sellers
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Maryland
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Aziaha James
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NC State
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Hannah Stuelke
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Iowa
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Lauren Jensen
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Creighton
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Serena Sundell
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Kansas State
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Flau'jae Johnson
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LSU
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Makayla Timpson
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Florida State
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Raven Johnson
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South Carolina
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Alyssa Ustby
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North Carolina
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Deja Kelly
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Oregon
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Hailey Van Lith
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TCU
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Gianna Kneepkens
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Utah
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Skylar Vann
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Oklahoma
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Ta'Niya Latson
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Florida State
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Talia von Oelhoffen
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USC
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Ayoka Lee
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Kansas State
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JuJu Watkins
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USC
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Charlisse Leger-Walker
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UCLA
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Mikaylah Williams
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LSU
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*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point during the 2024-25 season.