Michaela Onyenwere
Atlanta, Ga. – Sophomore guard Charisma Osborne and senior forward Michaela Onyenwere have been named to the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy midseason list, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday. The pair make up two of the 30 candidates for Women's Player of the Year.
The original preseason watch list for the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy named 50 players, of which Onyenwere was included. Osborne was not named to the preseason watch list, but has since played her way into running for the national accolade. The current list of players will be narrowed down to 10 national semifinalists on Mar. 2, 2021, and four finalists will be named on Mar. 19, 2021. The winner of the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy for Women's Player of the Year will be announced on April 3, 2021.
UCLA is one of only four teams with multiple watch list candidates (South Carolina, Stanford, UConn). The Pac-12 is tied for second with five total candidates on the midseason list.
Osborne is in the midst of an impressive second-year campaign with the Bruins. The Freshman All-Pac-12 honoree is leading the Conference in scoring at 19.6 points per game and has notched at least 20 points in each of her last seven games. She opened the season with a 31-point outing against Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 27), one point shy of her career-high. The Moreno Valley, Calif., native has dished out 51 assists through 14 games, already surpassing her total of 44 from last season (31 games). Osborne is second in the Pac-12 with 40 triples this season and has the highest three-point shooting percentage among the Conference's top five three-point shooters.
Onyenwere entered the season as a preseason AP All-American following her second-straight season garnering All-Pac-12 accolades. She is currently leading the Pac-12 in rebounding with 8.6 boards per game and ranks fifth in scoring (16.9 ppg). She is the only player in the Conference to rank in the top five in both categories. Onyenwere has scored in double figures in 13 of UCLA's 14 games this season and recorded a career-high 33 points in the team's win over then-No. 7 Oregon on Jan. 3. The Aurora, Colo., native was also recently named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, which honors players who excel on the court and has notable achievements in community, classroom, character, and competition.
2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Midseason List
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Paige Bueckers, UConn
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Charli Collier, Texas
Zia Cooke, South Carolina
Elissa Cunane, North Carolina State
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas
Dana Evans, Louisville
Ksyre Gondrezick, West Virginia
Arella Guirantes, Rutgers
Anastasia Hayes, Middle Tennessee State
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Rickea Jackson, Mississippi State
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Haley Jones, Stanford
N'dea Jones, Texas A&M
Dorka Juhasz, Ohio State
Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State
Aari McDonald, Arizona
Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn
Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Ashley Owusu, Maryland
Lindsey Pulliam, Northwestern
NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
Jasmine Walker, Alabama
Kiana Williams, Stanford
Christyn Williams, UConn
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious national honors in all of college and high school basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the most outstanding men's and women's college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men's and women's college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA's Lew Alcindor received the first Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women's recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include Jersey Mike's and Werner Ladder.
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Jersey Mike's Subs, with more than 2,500 locations open and under development nationwide, serves authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on in-store freshly baked bread - the same recipe it started with in 1956. Passion for giving in Jersey Mike's local communities is reflective in its mission statement "Giving...making a difference in someone's life." For more information, please visit jerseymikes.com or follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/jerseymikes), Instagram (instagram.com/jerseymikes), and Twitter (twitter.com/jerseymikes.com
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