(From Illinois Sports Information Office)

Wooden Award Website

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis is on the Midseason Top 25 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Tuesday.

Jakucionis is having a brilliant rookie campaign for the 13th-ranked Fighting Illini. He is averaging 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on the season, the first freshman from a power conference with 16+ points, 5.5+ rebounds and 5+ assists since Washington's Markelle Fultz in 2016-17. He is shooting nearly 50% from the field, better than 41% from 3-point range, and 87.5% from the foul line.

A two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree, Jakucionis set the UI freshman record with six consecutive 20-point games and stands just two away from the program's freshman single-season record of eight. Jakucionis is currently on pace to break the Illini freshman scoring record as well as free throw percentage record.

Jakucionis is one of seven freshmen on the 25-player Wooden Award midseason list, and one of only five players from the Big Ten.

Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List
Airious "Ace" Bailey | Rutgers
Johni Broome | Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida
RJ Davis | North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson | Kansas
Eric Dixon | Villanova
Jeremiah Fears | Oklahoma
Cooper Flagg | Duke
Keshon Gilbert | Iowa St
PJ Haggerty | Memphis
Dylan Harper | Rutgers
Josh Hubbard | Mississippi State
Kasparas Jakucionis | Illinois
Tre Johnson | Texas
Kam Jones | Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton
Alex Karaban | UConn
Chaz Lanier | Tennessee
Ryan Nembhard | Gonzaga
Derik Queen | Maryland
Maxime Raynaud | Stanford
Mark Sears | Alabama
Braden Smith | Purdue
Wade Taylor IV | Texas A & M
Zakai Zeigler | Tennessee

Selected by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 25 student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year. Players not selected for the midseason list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award late-season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award qualifications.

Nearly 1,000 voters will be invited to rank 10 of the 15 players on the ballot in order of preference when voting opens during the NCAA Tournament. Voters will also consider performances in the tournament's early rounds, players' contributions to their teams and their character. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced during the week of the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.

The winners and the All Americans of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11.