Indiana University Athletics
Ali Patberg Named To Preseason Wade Watch List
11/17/2020 12:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ATLANTA – Indiana senior guard Ali Patberg has been named to the preseason Wade Watch list for the 2021 Wade Trophy, announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association on Tuesday.
Patberg is coming off a 2019-20 season where she earned All-Big Ten First Team honoree and WBCA All-American honorable mention selection. She returns for her sixth season of eligibility this season after an impressive junior campaign in which she led the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game. She also led the program with 5.3 assists per game (third in the Big Ten) and averaged 4.6 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the floor. As a junior, she was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2019-20 and was featured on watch lists including the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. She is on track to hit 1,000 career points scored at Indiana – coming in to the season with 989 points scored in her two seasons in Cream and Crimson.
The Columbus, Ind. native has also garnered attention already this season as a preseason All-Big Ten honoree and 2021 Nancy Lieberman Award watch list candidate. She is just the third candidate in school history to earn a spot on the Wade Trophy preseason watch list, with Tyra Buss earned preseason honors in 2017 and 2018 while Hoosier great Denise Jackson was a finalist for the award in 1983 and 1984.
The Wade Trophy — now in its 44th year — is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women's basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. First awarded in 1978 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America, the Wade Trophy has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I National Player of the Year since 2001.
The "Wade Watch" list of candidates for the Wade Trophy is composed of players selected by the WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America Selection Committee. The committee will review the list midseason to determine if additional players will be added based on their play during the first half of the 2020-21 season.
2021 Wade Trophy Preseason Watch List
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Patberg is coming off a 2019-20 season where she earned All-Big Ten First Team honoree and WBCA All-American honorable mention selection. She returns for her sixth season of eligibility this season after an impressive junior campaign in which she led the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game. She also led the program with 5.3 assists per game (third in the Big Ten) and averaged 4.6 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the floor. As a junior, she was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2019-20 and was featured on watch lists including the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. She is on track to hit 1,000 career points scored at Indiana – coming in to the season with 989 points scored in her two seasons in Cream and Crimson.
The Columbus, Ind. native has also garnered attention already this season as a preseason All-Big Ten honoree and 2021 Nancy Lieberman Award watch list candidate. She is just the third candidate in school history to earn a spot on the Wade Trophy preseason watch list, with Tyra Buss earned preseason honors in 2017 and 2018 while Hoosier great Denise Jackson was a finalist for the award in 1983 and 1984.
The Wade Trophy — now in its 44th year — is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women's basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. First awarded in 1978 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America, the Wade Trophy has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I National Player of the Year since 2001.
The "Wade Watch" list of candidates for the Wade Trophy is composed of players selected by the WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America Selection Committee. The committee will review the list midseason to determine if additional players will be added based on their play during the first half of the 2020-21 season.
2021 Wade Trophy Preseason Watch List
| Name | Institution | Position | Height | Current Year |
| Janelle Bailey | North Carolina | C | 6-4 | Sr. |
| Aliyah Boston | South Carolina | F | 6-5 | So. |
| Jessika Carter | Mississippi State | F/C | 6-5 | Jr. |
| Charli Collier | Texas | F/C | 6-5 | Jr. |
| Zia Cooke | South Carolina | G | 5-9 | So. |
| Elissa Cunane | NC State | C | 6-5 | Jr. |
| Rennia Davis | Tennessee | G/F | 6-2 | Sr. |
| Chelsea Dungee | Arkansas | G | 5-11 | RS Sr. |
| Dana Evans | Louisville | G | 5-6 | Sr. |
| Vivian Gray | Texas Tech | G | 6-1 | Sr. |
| Arella Guirantes | Rutgers | G | 5-11 | RS Sr. |
| Naz Hillmon | Michigan | F | 6-2 | Jr |
| Rhyne Howard | Kentucky | G | 6-2 | Jr. |
| Lexie Hull | Stanford | G | 6-0 | Jr |
| Rickea Jackson | Mississippi State | F | 6-2 | Soph. |
| Ashley Joens | Iowa State | G/F | 6-0 | Jr. |
| N'dea Jones | Texas A&M | F | 6-2 | Sr. |
| Micaela Kelly | Central Michigan | G | 5-6 | Sr. |
| Ayoka Lee | Kansas State | C | 6-6 | Soph. |
| Tiana Mangakahia | Syracuse | G | 5-6 | 5th Yr. |
| Aari McDonald | Arizona | G | 5-6 | Sr. |
| Olivia Nelson-Ododa | Connecticut | F | 6-5 | Jr. |
| Michaela Onyenwere | UCLA | F | 6-0 | Sr. |
| Charisma Osborne | UCLA | G | 5-9 | Soph. |
| Ashley Owusu | Maryland | G | 6-0 | Soph. |
| Ali Patberg | Indiana | G | 5-11 | Sr. |
| Lindsey Pulliam | Northwestern | G | 5-10 | Sr. |
| Maddy Siegrist | Villanova | F | 6-1 | Soph. |
| Destiny Slocum | Arkansas | G | 5-7 | RS Sr. |
| NaLyssa Smith | Baylor | F | 6-2 | Jr. |
| Evina Westbrook | Connecticut | G | 6-0 | RS. Jr. |
| Christyn Williams | Connecticut | G | 5-11 | Jr. |
| Kiana Williams | Stanford | G | 5-8 | Sr. |
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