Jackson Chosen For Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List

Tennessee senior Rickea Jackson is among 20 players named as preseason watch list candidates for the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced on Wednesday.

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. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.

"We are extremely proud of the work ethic and dedication shown by the student athletes on the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "After her dominant career at USC and winning a pair of NCAA Championships, Cheryl is one of the greatest to play our game. We are honored to be working alongside her throughout the 2022-23 season."

A 6-foot-2 senior transfer from Mississippi State, Jackson averaged 20.3 points as well as 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals last season. She appeared on Cheryl Miller Award Watch Lists the past two years and was a top-10 finalist in 2021.

Jackson played in 67 games and started 58 of them at MSU before making the move to UT, leading the Bulldogs in scoring all three years she was in Starkville. She averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals over 31.6 minutes per game during her time there. She scored in double figures in 52 contests, recording six double-doubles, and tallied 20 or more points 19 times, 30+ three times and 40+ on one occasion.

During her collegiate career, Jackson has previously earned WBCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades twice and made the All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC All-Tournament Team in 2019-20.

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting Friday, October 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Miller and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner will be selected.

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.

Previous winners of the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award are Ashley Joens, Iowa State (2021-22), Satou Sabally, Oregon (2020), Bridget Carleton, Iowa State (2019) and Gabby Williams, Connecticut (2018).

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.

2023 Cheryl Miller Award Candidates*

Aijha Blackwell	Baylor	Madi Williams	Oklahoma
Elizabeth Balogun	Duke	Lior Garzon	Oklahoma State
Jordyn Merritt	Florida	Brea Beal	South Carolina
Grace Berger	Indiana	Myah Selland	South Dakota State
Ashley Joens	Iowa State	Haley Jones	Stanford
Morgan Jones	Louisville	Rickea Jackson	Tennessee
Shyanne Sellers	Maryland	Shay Holle	Texas
Mimi Collins	NC State	Caroline Ducharme	UConn
Skyler Gill	North Alabama	Gianna Kneepkens	Utah
Alyssa Ustby	North Carolina	Taylor Soule	Virginia Tech

*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2022-23 season

About Cheryl Miller:
Cheryl Miller took women's basketball to a new level, literally and figuratively. With her tremendous leaping ability, athletic dexterity and grace, Miller established a legacy throughout her high school and college career that is unparalleled.

Playing for Riverside Polytechnic High School (CA), in 1982, Miller set the single game scoring record of 105 points. As a collegiate forward at the University of Southern California from 1982 to 1986, Miller helped bring women's basketball to the forefront of American sports. In 1984, she led the Olympic team to gold averaging more than 16 points per game. Her superior athletic ability and engaging persona placed her among the elite in the world of college and professional athletics. In 1986, Sports Illustrated named Miller as the best male or female player in college basketball.

In a spectacular career, Miller scored 3,018 total career points and was a four-time All-American. Miller was named Naismith Player of the Year three times and earned the Wade Trophy once. Miller was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010.

Since retiring from professional play, Miller has had a very successful career as a WNBA GM, professional and collegiate coach, and sportscaster for TNT, ESPN and NBC for the 1996 Olympics.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Jackson Chosen For Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List

Players Mentioned

Rickea Jackson

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