Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Knecht Among 15 on Wooden Award National Ballot
March 09, 2024 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Dalton Knecht of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team is one of 15 players on the Wooden Award National Ballot, as announced Saturday morning on ESPN College GameDay.
Knecht is among 13 selected individuals from the Late Season Top 20 Watch List announced Jan. 30, while two names—Alabama's Mark Sears and Houston's Jamal Shead—joined them. Knecht, Sears, Auburn's Johni Broome and Kentucky's Antonio Reeves give the SEC a nation-best four designees, while the Big 12 is the only other league with even three.
A fifth-year guard from Thornton, Colo., Knecht is averaging 20.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent beyond the arc. In SEC play, he is putting up 24.6 points per game, the best mark in the league since 2009-10 and the second-highest conference scoring average of any Division I player this season (min. two games).
Knecht has four 35-point performances this season to lead all Division I players, while also placing co-third with six 30-point showings and top-15 with 10 20-point displays. He averaged 24.8 points per game across his 11 true road outings as a Volunteer, notching 22-plus points in eight of them.
All 15 balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by John Wooden when the award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 18-25 and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The finalists for the 2024 Wooden Award presented by Principal will be announced April 2.
Knecht and fourth-ranked Tennessee (24-6, 14-3 SEC) conclude the regular season with a top-15 matchup Saturday at 4 p.m. against No. 15/13 Kentucky, live on CBS from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
WOODEN AWARD NATIONAL BALLOT
Johni Broome, Auburn
R.J. Davis, North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State
Caleb Love, Arizona
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Tristen Newton, Connecticut
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky
Mark Sears, Alabama
Jamal Shead, Houston
Knecht is among 13 selected individuals from the Late Season Top 20 Watch List announced Jan. 30, while two names—Alabama's Mark Sears and Houston's Jamal Shead—joined them. Knecht, Sears, Auburn's Johni Broome and Kentucky's Antonio Reeves give the SEC a nation-best four designees, while the Big 12 is the only other league with even three.
A fifth-year guard from Thornton, Colo., Knecht is averaging 20.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent beyond the arc. In SEC play, he is putting up 24.6 points per game, the best mark in the league since 2009-10 and the second-highest conference scoring average of any Division I player this season (min. two games).
Knecht has four 35-point performances this season to lead all Division I players, while also placing co-third with six 30-point showings and top-15 with 10 20-point displays. He averaged 24.8 points per game across his 11 true road outings as a Volunteer, notching 22-plus points in eight of them.
All 15 balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by John Wooden when the award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 18-25 and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The finalists for the 2024 Wooden Award presented by Principal will be announced April 2.
Knecht and fourth-ranked Tennessee (24-6, 14-3 SEC) conclude the regular season with a top-15 matchup Saturday at 4 p.m. against No. 15/13 Kentucky, live on CBS from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
WOODEN AWARD NATIONAL BALLOT
Johni Broome, Auburn
R.J. Davis, North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State
Caleb Love, Arizona
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Tristen Newton, Connecticut
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky
Mark Sears, Alabama
Jamal Shead, Houston
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballMBB | Nate Ament Media Availability (8.20.25)
Wednesday, August 20
MBB | Clarence Massamba Media Availability (8.20.25)
Wednesday, August 20
MBB | Justin Gainey Media Availability (8.20.25)
Wednesday, August 20
MBB | DeWayne Brown II Media Availability (7.31.25)
Thursday, July 31
