The 2026 John R. Wooden Award, presented yearly to the nation’s most outstanding college basketball player, has five contenders. Among these are four athletes competing this upcoming weekend at the women’s Final Four, including UConn’s Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd.
Lauren Betts from UCLA, Mikayla Blakes of Vanderbilt, and Madison Booker representing Texas were also included on the list of finalists.
On Friday in Phoenix, the championship semifinals will commence with Betts’ Bruins competing against Booker’s Longhorns (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Earlier in Friday’s twin bill, Strong (averaging 18.6 PPG and 7.6 RPG) and Fudd (with 17.5 PPG and 45.5% on 3-pointers) will guide the Huskies as they face South Carolina (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Blakes, whose Vanderbilt Commodores were eliminated in the Elite Eight, topped the nation in points production this season, recording 27.0 points per game.
Furthermore, these five athletes were selected for the 2026 Wooden Award All-America Team.
Alongside Betts, Blakes, Booker, Fudd, and Strong on the All-America Team are: Audi Crooks, a third-year player from Iowa State; Joyce Edwards, a second-year player from South Carolina; Hannah Hidalgo, a third-year player from Notre Dame; Flau’jae Johnson, a fourth-year player from LSU; and Olivia Miles, a postgraduate student from TCU.
For the second straight year, Betts (with 17.2 PPG and 8.6 RPG) and Booker (with 19.3 PPG and 6.7 RPG) are contenders. Betts, Booker, Hidalgo, and Miles were also appointed to the 2025 Wooden All-America team.
The 2025 Wooden Award recipient was USC’s standout performer, JuJu Watkins.