Knox Times

The Atlanta Tipoff Club has released the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's Watch List, and Tennessee women's basketball features a nation-best trio of performers on that 50-player roster.

No. 5/4-ranked UT, which opens its season Tuesday night at No. 14/15 Ohio State, is represented on the Naismith list by seniors Jordan Horston, Rickea Jackson and Tamari Key. The Lady Vols are one of only two programs (South Carolina is the other) to have three players receiving recognition on the preseason list.

The midseason 30 team will be announced in early January, and then the competition will be narrowed down to 10 national semifinalists in early March. Following those results, four finalists will be named on March 21, 2023, and the winner of the 2023 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy for Women's Player of the Year will be announced on March 29, 2023. 

 

Horston, 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 16.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in 23 starts last season before suffering a season-ending injury at Alabama on Feb. 17.  She was a 2022 All-SEC First Team pick by the media and coaches, and was named All-America Honorable Mention by AP and the WBCA. Additionally, Horston made the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Top 10, Wooden Late Season List and Naismith Midseason List, and was the South Point Shootout Most Outstanding Player. She is a member of the 2022-23 Ann Meyers Drysdale Preseason Watch List and an All-SEC First Team preseason pick by the coaches, media and the USA TODAY Sports Network.

Jackson, a 6-foot-2 forward, averaged an SEC-leading 20.3 points as well as 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals while starting all 15 games she played before entering the transfer portal out of Mississippi State last January. Jackson has previously earned WBCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades twice and made the All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC All-Tournament Team in 2019-20. She is a member of the 2022-23 Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List and an All-SEC First Team preseason pick by the media and All-SEC Second Team choice by the coaches and the USA TODAY Sports Network.

 

Key, a 6-foot-6 center, put up 10.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.5 blocks while starting all 34 contests as a junior. The school's all-time record holder for blocked shots and triple-doubles in a career and season, she was named All-SEC Second Team by the media and coaches a year ago and is a two-time member of the SEC All-Defensive Team. Key also was named a 2022 Lisa Leslie Award Top-Five Finalist and was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist. She is a member of the 2022-23 Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List and an All-SEC First Team preseason pick by the coaches, media and the USA TODAY Sports Network.

 

"We have selected an elite group of athletes for the 2023 Jersey Mike's Women's Naismith Trophy watch list this year, and we look forward to keeping an eye on these stellar players and adding additional excellent players as the season progresses," said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

 

The Big Ten Conference placed the most athletes on the watch list with 10. The ACC, Pac-12 and SEC are close behind with nine candidates apiece. 

 

"The athletes on the watch list are the best of the best in their sport, and likely will provide a season full of exciting moments on the court," said Jeff Hemschoot, vice president of marketing, Jersey Mike's.  "We are excited to watch these women compete as we get ready for another terrific season of women's college basketball."

 

2023 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's Watch List 

LAST NAME	FIRST NAME	FULL NAME	CLASS	POS	SCHOOL
Boston	Aliyah	Aliyah Boston	Senior	F	South Carolina
Battles	Diamond	Diamond Battles	Fifth Year	G	Georgia
Beal	Brea	Brea Beal	Senior	G	South Carolina
Berger	Grace	Grace Berger	Grad Student	G	Indiana
Blackwell	Aijha	Aijha Blackwell	Senior	G/F	Baylor
Breen	Sam	Sam Breen	Grad Student	F	UMass
Brink	Cameron	Cameron Brink	Junior	F	Stanford
Brown	Leigha	Leigha Brown	Fifth Year	G	Michigan
Brown-Turner	Jakia	Jakia Brown-Turner	Senior	W	North Carolina State
Clark	Caitlin	Caitlin Clark	Junior	G	Iowa
Cooke	Zia	Zia Cooke	Senior	G	South Carolina
Curry	Jayda	Jayda Curry	Sophomore	G	Cal
Czinano	Monika	Monika Czinano	Fifth Year	F/C	Iowa
Fudd	Azzi	Azzi Fudd	Sophomore	G	UConn
Harmon	Rori	Rori Harmon	Sophomore	G	Texas
Holmes	Mackenzie	Mackenzie Holmes	Senior	F	Indiana
Horston	Jordan	Jordan Horston	Senior	G	Tennessee
Jackson	Rickea	Rickea Jackson	Senior	F	Tennessee
Joens	Ashley	Ashley Joens	Senior	G/F	Iowa State
Johnson	Diamond	Diamond Johnson	Junior	G	North Carolina State
Jones	Haley	Haley Jones	Senior	G	Stanford
Jones	Morgan	Morgan Jones	Grad Student	G	Louisville
Kelly	Deja	Deja Kelly	Junior	G	North Carolina
Key	Tamari	Tamari Key	Senior	C	Tennessee
Kitley	Elizabeth	Elizabeth Kitley	Senior	C	Virginia Tech
Kneepkens	Gianna	Gianna Kneepkens	Sophomore	G	Utah
Leger-Walker	Charlisse	Charlisse Leger-Walker	Junior	G	Washington State
Loville	Jade	Jade Loville	Fifth Year	G/F	Arizona
Markowski	Alexis	Alexis Markowski	Sophomore	C/F	Nebraska
Mikesell	Taylor	Taylor Mikesell	Senior	G	Ohio State
Miles	Olivia	Olivia Miles	Sophomore	G	Notre Dame
Miller	Diamond	Diamond Miller	Senior	G	Maryland
Moore	Aaliyah	Aaliyah Moore	Sophomore	F	Texas
Morris	Alexis	Alexis Morris	Fifth Year	G	LSU
Morrow	Aneesah	Aneesah Morrow	Sophomore	F	DePaul
Osborne	Charisma	Charisma Osborne	Senior	G	UCLA
Owusu	Ashley	Ashley Owusu	Senior	G	Virginia Tech
Paopao	Te-Hina	Te-Hina Paopao	Junior	G	Oregon
Reese	Angel	Angel Reese	Sophomore	F	LSU
Reese	Cate	Cate Reese	Fifth Year	F	Arizona
Robertson	Taylor	Taylor Robertson	Fifth Year	G	Oklahoma
Ryan	Emily	Emily Ryan	Junior	G	Iowa State
Selland	Myah	Myah Selland	Redshirt Senior	F	South Dakota State
Sheldon	Jacy	Jacy Sheldon	Senior	G	Ohio State
Shelley	Jaz	Jaz Shelley	Junior	G	Nebraska
Siegrist	Maddy	Maddy Siegrist	Senior	F	Villanova
Ustby	Alyssa	Alyssa Ustby	Junior	G	North Carolina
Van Lith	Hailey	Hailey Van Lith	Junior	G	Louisville
Wells	Destinee	Destinee Wells	Junior	G	Belmont
Williams	Madi	Madi Williams	Fifth Year	F	Oklahoma

Original source can be found here