WBB’s Carrington Placed on Drysdale Award Watch List for Shooting Guards
11/10/2020 11:55:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Stanford transfer gets look from national committee
WACO, Texas – Baylor graduate transfer DiJonai Carrington came from Stanford to play for Baylor, and after already receiving preseason recognition from the Big 12, the 5-11 shooting guard was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA Preseason Watch List for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Tuesday.
The Drysdale Award recognizes the nation's top NCAA Division I shooting guard. The honor was named after Naismith Hall of Fame 1993 Class inductee, Ann Meyers Drysdale. Drysdale was the first player, male or female, to be named to an All-America team in four-straight college seasons.
Carrington hails from San Diego, Calif. and played three-plus seasons at Stanford. Even after an injury-shortened season in 2019-20, the league coaches named her the 2020-21 Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
Her junior season in 2018-19 likely earned her the honor as she helped the Cardinal to an NCAA Elite 8 appearance and was named All-Pac 12 after averaging 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
Carrington has 912 career points and 553 rebounds in 108 collegiate games played.
The Drysdale Award is a part of the Naismith's "Starting Five" awards that are in their fourth year. The honors are presented at the NCAA Women's Final Four in April. Baylor's DiDi Richards was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for top point guard.
2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates*
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2020-21 season
About Ann Meyers Drysdale:
Ann Meyers Drysdale's career escalated women's basketball to a new level. She was the first high school player to make the United States national team and the first woman to receive a full four-year athletic scholarship to UCLA. Her high-octane approach translated into wins and awards and she finished her impressive career at UCLA owning 12 of 13 school records including becoming the first player to record a quadruple double in UCLA history. A supremely talented all-around player with natural basketball ability and instincts, Meyers Drysdale was the first player, male or female, named to an All-America team in four straight seasons and was named Player of the Year during her senior year. While still at UCLA, she started on the first women's Olympic team in 1976. After an All-America career, she became the first player drafted into the Women's Basketball League, earning WBL MVP and making history by becoming the first female player to tryout with an NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, with whom she signed a free agent contract. Meyers Drysdale pushed the envelope in women's basketball, bringing a feel and sense for the game that few players ever exhibited. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2012, Meyers Drysdale became one of the first annual naming honorees on the women's side of the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) with the organization's National Women's Player of the Year. Since retiring from professional play, she has had a very successful career as an NBA and WNBA executive, as well as a color commentator for the NBA, WNBA and the Olympic Games in 1984, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. In 2005 she received the ASAMA Ronald Reagan Media Award and in 2019, she was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.
About the WBCA:
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. For more information, visit us online: www.WBCA.org, follow @wbca1981 or call 1-770-279-8027.
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game's elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow @hoophall or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.
The Drysdale Award recognizes the nation's top NCAA Division I shooting guard. The honor was named after Naismith Hall of Fame 1993 Class inductee, Ann Meyers Drysdale. Drysdale was the first player, male or female, to be named to an All-America team in four-straight college seasons.
Carrington hails from San Diego, Calif. and played three-plus seasons at Stanford. Even after an injury-shortened season in 2019-20, the league coaches named her the 2020-21 Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
Her junior season in 2018-19 likely earned her the honor as she helped the Cardinal to an NCAA Elite 8 appearance and was named All-Pac 12 after averaging 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
Carrington has 912 career points and 553 rebounds in 108 collegiate games played.
The Drysdale Award is a part of the Naismith's "Starting Five" awards that are in their fourth year. The honors are presented at the NCAA Women's Final Four in April. Baylor's DiDi Richards was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for top point guard.
2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates*
| Aari McDonald | Arizona |
| Chelsea Dungee | Arkansas |
| DiJonai Carrington | Baylor |
| Christyn Williams | Connecticut |
| Sonya Morris | DePaul |
| Jill Townsend | Gonzaga |
| Nicole Cardaño-Hillary | Indiana |
| Dana Evans | Louisville |
| Ashley Owusu | Maryland |
| Jakia Brown-Turner | NC State |
| Lindsey Pulliam | Northwestern |
| Taylor Robertson | Oklahoma |
| Taylor Mikesell | Oregon |
| Arella Guirantes | Rutgers |
| Zia Cooke | South Carolina |
| Kiana Williams | Stanford |
| Kiara Lewis | Syracuse |
| Destiny Pitts | Texas A&M |
| Charisma Osborne | UCLA |
| Brynna Maxwell | Utah |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2020-21 season
About Ann Meyers Drysdale:
Ann Meyers Drysdale's career escalated women's basketball to a new level. She was the first high school player to make the United States national team and the first woman to receive a full four-year athletic scholarship to UCLA. Her high-octane approach translated into wins and awards and she finished her impressive career at UCLA owning 12 of 13 school records including becoming the first player to record a quadruple double in UCLA history. A supremely talented all-around player with natural basketball ability and instincts, Meyers Drysdale was the first player, male or female, named to an All-America team in four straight seasons and was named Player of the Year during her senior year. While still at UCLA, she started on the first women's Olympic team in 1976. After an All-America career, she became the first player drafted into the Women's Basketball League, earning WBL MVP and making history by becoming the first female player to tryout with an NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, with whom she signed a free agent contract. Meyers Drysdale pushed the envelope in women's basketball, bringing a feel and sense for the game that few players ever exhibited. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2012, Meyers Drysdale became one of the first annual naming honorees on the women's side of the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) with the organization's National Women's Player of the Year. Since retiring from professional play, she has had a very successful career as an NBA and WNBA executive, as well as a color commentator for the NBA, WNBA and the Olympic Games in 1984, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. In 2005 she received the ASAMA Ronald Reagan Media Award and in 2019, she was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.
About the WBCA:
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. For more information, visit us online: www.WBCA.org, follow @wbca1981 or call 1-770-279-8027.
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game's elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow @hoophall or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.
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