The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced the top 10 candidates for the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award on Wednesday, and Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson is among those in consideration.
Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year and Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, the annual award in its sixth year recognizes the top small forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
2023 Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award Candidates*
Elizabeth Balogun, Duke
Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Haley Jones, Stanford
Gianna Kneepkens, Utah
Myah Selland, South Dakota State
Shyanne Sellers, Maryland
Taylor Soule, Virginia Tech
Alyssa Ustby, North Carolina
Madi Williams, Oklahoma
*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2022-23 season
Jackson is averaging 17.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in all games while shooting 55.4 percent from the field and 77.3 percent from the free throw line. In nine SEC contests, she is putting up 20.4 ppg. and 6.1 rpg. while shooting 58.5 percent on field goals and 75 percent at the charity stripe.
Among SEC players, the 6-foot-2 native of Detroit ranks third in scoring and field goal percentage in all games and in league contests. She is seventh in free throw percentage in all games, while standing ninth in conference action.
Ranking No. 3 among current active SEC players in points with 1,475, Jackson has scored 20 or more points eight times in 2022-23, with five of those coming vs. conference schools. She put together three straight 20-spots vs. Vanderbilt (23), Texas A&M (22) and Georgia (23) from Jan. 8-15.
Among standout moments, she was named to the Bad Boy Mowers Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team, she earned SEC Player of the Week distinction on Jan. 3 and she delivered a game-winning “and-1” for Tennessee with 1.1 left on the clock at Missouri on Jan. 22.
Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, February 3, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, five finalists will be presented to Miller and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Cheryl Miller Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center), in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
For more information on the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MillerAward on Twitter and Instagram.
