More than just the usual names are up for the nation’s best power forward.
The Katrina McClain Award, recognizing the country’s top power forward, recently unveiled its watch list made up of 20 NCAA women’s basketball players.
On this list, it’s players like Lauren Cox, Napheesa Collier and Jessica Shepard that jump out at you. But the mid-major talent surely shouldn’t be skimmed over. Drake’s Sara Rhine, Middle Tennesee’s Alex Johnson and Princeton’s Bella Alarie are all three capable of huge seasons.
Rhine still has a couple years ahead of her, heading into her redshirt junior season for the Bulldogs. The 2015-16 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and 2017-18 Sixth Player of the Year isn’t slowing down anytime soon. She averaged 15.6 points per game last season to go with just over six rebounds per game to help lead Drake to their second straight MVC title and undefeated conference season. In the NCAA tournament last April, she went 10-11 from the floor for 21 points against Texas A&M.
More from NCAA
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, April 6: Stanford defeats Arizona in a tightly contested matchup to win the national title
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 30: UConn and Baylor deliver a classic battle of storied programs
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 26: Louisville and Texas A&M survive and advance
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 23: Highlights from the first round of the NCAA Tournament
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 16: Tournament bracket released
Alex Johnson, the 2017-18 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year as a junior and C-USA Freshman of the Year, was named to this same watch list last year. Despite sitting out nine games to injury, she averaged 19.9 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game last season. As a sophomore, Johnson eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark, becoming just the third sophomore ever in program history to do so.
Princeton’s Bella Alarie is another one with many ‘first team’ descriptions attached to her name. The junior is a two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection, was tabbed the 2017-18 Ivy League Player of the Year as a sophomore and earned Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman. Standing at 6’4″, Alarie averaged nearly a double-double at 12.4 points her game and 9.4 rebounds last season. The 283 rebounds she pulled down in the 2017-18 campaign rank third most in a single-season in Princeton history.
2019 Preseason Watch List
Kianna Ibis (Arizona State)
Lauren Cox (Baylor)
Reyna Frost (Central Michigan)
Napheesa Collier (Connecticut)
Audrey Faber (Creighton)
Sara Rhine (Drake)
Caliya Robinson (Georgia)
Peyton Williams (Kansas State)
Brianna Fraser (Maryland)
Alex Johnson (Middle Tennessee)
Anriel Howard (Mississippi State)
Jessica Shepard (Notre Dame)
Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah (Northwestern)
Ruthy Hebard (Oregon)
Bella Alarie (Princeton)
Alexis Jennings (South Carolina)
Alanna Smith (Stanford)
Amy Okonkwo (TCU)
Charli Collier (Texas)
Megan Huff (Utah)
Last year, Oregon’s Ruthy Hebard won the award. The 2019 winner will be announced on an ESPN platform at the Women’s Final Four. In mid-February, the list will be trimmed to 10 players with a chance for fans to cast their votes at hoophallawards.com.