ATLANTA — The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced the All-Region nominees for the 2018 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team on Thursday, and Tennessee seniors Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell are on that list for Region 2.
The selection committee will choose the 10-member WBCA All-America Team from a group of 52 candidates.
The Lady Vol standouts were among 10 players on the list from Region 2. The others were Caliya Robinson of Georgia; Teaira McCowan, Victoria Vivians and Morgan William of Mississippi State; Sophie Cunningham of Missouri; Tyasha Harris and A’ja Wilson of South Carolina; and Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M. This marked Russell’s second time earning this distinction.
Nared, a 6-foot-2 forward from Portland, Ore., led Tennessee in scoring at 16.7 points per game in 2017-18 and was third with 7.4 rebounds per contest. She also ranked first in steals (73), second in three-pointers made (27), third in assists (84) and third in blocks (20), while leading the Lady Vols in free throw percentage (.820), free throws made (169) and free throws attempted (206).
With 19 double-doubles during her career, Nared’s 10 this season ranked her sixth among SEC players and seventh-most ever by a Lady Vol senior. She finished second all-time at UT in a season in free throws made (169) and 10th in free throws attempted (206), while standing fifth in career free throws made (429) and fifth in career free throw percentage (.827). Her scoring average of 16.7 is the eighth-highest all-time of any Lady Vol senior and her career point total of 1,460 ranks No. 26 on UT’s scoring list.
Nared finished fourth in the SEC in steals this season (2.2 spg.), ninth in scoring (16.7 ppg.), ninth in free throw percentage (.820), 10th in minutes played (33.4) and 14th in rebounding (7.4 rpg.). She was named All-SEC First Team by the coaches and second team by the media, MVP of the Cancun Challenge and a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award. She also was named USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week, a two-time SEC Player of the Week, a two time College Sports Madness National Player of the Week and a three-time College Sports Madness SEC Player of the Week.
Russell, a 6-foot-6 center from Springfield, Ore., averaged 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest, ranking second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding. She also ranked first in field goal percentage (.583) and blocked shots (44), while standing third in steals (39), fifth in free throw percentage (.682) and sixth in assists (27). Her 1,597 points and 1,085 rebounds rank her 16th and third, respectively on the Lady Vol career lists and her rebound average (9.2) is the fifth-highest ever recorded by a UT senior.
With her UT senior-record 16th double-double of the season in her final game, Russell finished with 46 for her career to wind up second behind only Chamique Holdsclaw (57). Her .583 field goal percentage is ninth-best in a single season, while her field goal percentage (.570), blocks (195) and rebound average (8.0) ranked her fifth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
An All-SEC First Team selection and finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, Russell is fourth in double-doubles among league players this season with 16. She ranks fourth in rebounds (9.2), fifth in field goal percentage (.583), eight in blocked shots (1.3), 13th in scoring (15.3) and 15th in minutes played (32.7).
The selection committee uses an equation to determine an equitable number of nominees from each region. The number of NCAA Division I institutions in each region is divided by the number of NCAA Division I institutions overall to determine a percentage for each region. This percentage is then multiplied by 52 (the total number of desired finalists) to get the number of finalists for each region.
The 2018 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America team will be announced Thursday, March 29, during the WBCA Convention in Columbus, Ohio.
Visit www.wbca.org/recognize/ to see a list of past WBCA Coaches’ All-America teams.
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