Jakucionis on Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List
February 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball
News
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis is on the Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Tuesday.
Jakucionis is having a brilliant rookie campaign for the Fighting Illini. He is averaging 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on the season, the first freshman from a power conference to tally 15+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists since Washington's Markelle Fultz in 2016-17. He broke the UI freshman record for 20-point games, with eight so far this season. Jakucionis also is a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, named Midseason All-America Third Team by The Sporting News, and a unanimous Freshman All-America Team selection by The Athletic.
Jakucionis is one of only four freshmen on the 20-player Wooden Award late season list, as well as one of four players from the Big Ten conference.
Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List
Airious "Ace" Bailey | Rutgers
Johni Broome | Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida
Hunter Dickinson | Kansas
Eric Dixon | Villanova
Cooper Flagg | Duke
Keshon Gilbert | Iowa St
PJ Haggerty | Memphis
Dylan Harper | Rutgers
Kasparas Jakucionis | Illinois
Curtis Jones | Iowa State
Kam Jones | Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton
Alex Karaban | UConn
Chaz Lanier | Tennessee
Ryan Nembhard | Gonzaga
Maxime Raynaud | Stanford
Mark Sears | Alabama
Javon Small | West Virginia
Braden Smith | Purdue
Selected by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 20 student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year. Players not selected for the late midseason list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award late-season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award qualifications.
Nearly 1,000 Wooden Award voters will be invited to rank 10 of the 15 players on the ballot in order of preference when voting opens during the NCAA Tournament. Voters will also consider performances in the tournament's early rounds, players' contributions to their teams and their character. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced during the week of the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.
The winners and the All Americans of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11.
