Oregon junior guard Sabrina Ionescu won the Wooden Award for women's basketball Friday in Los Angeles and set herself up as the favorite to take the honor again next season.
Ionescu, who has an NCAA-record 18 triple-doubles in her career, announced last Saturday that she will return to Oregon for her senior season. Ionescu was eligible to go in Wednesday's WNBA draft because she turns 22 this calendar year.
But the day after her Ducks fell in the national semifinals in Tampa, Florida, Ionescu wrote a story for The Players Tribune saying she was coming back. Many expected her to be the No. 1 draft pick; instead, that honor went to another draft-eligible junior, Notre Dame's Jackie Young.
Ionescu was the only junior among the five finalists for the Wooden Award, joining Louisville's Asia Durr, Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan, UConn's Napheesa Collier and Iowa's Megan Gustafson. Those four seniors were all drafted into the WNBA on Wednesday.
Ionescu (two) and Gustafson (three) split the major player of the year awards this season. Ionescu, who averaged 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 8.2 assists, won the Wade Trophy, which is the Women's Basketball Coaches Association player of the year honor, and the Nancy Lieberman point guard award.
Gustafson won the espnW, Associated Press and Naismith player of the year awards, as well as the Lisa Leslie center award.
Durr won the Ann Meyers Drysdale shooting guard award, and Collier the Katrina McClain power forward award. The position awards are sponsored by the WBCA and the Naismith Hall of Fame and were presented at the Women's Final Four in Tampa, as were the Wade Trophy, AP and Naismith awards.