ATLANTA—Texas A&M junior guard Courtney Walker was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30 on Wednesday. The trophy, presented by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club, goes to the top player in women's college basketball.
Walker leads the Aggies with 14.8 points per game, which ranks fifth in the SEC, and averages 17.9 points per game against the AP Top 25. Walker, an All-American in 2013-14, was named SEC Player of Week on Nov. 17 after helping the Aggies to a season-opening win with 25 points at No. 18 DePaul.
Walker is one of 26 Aggies to score over 1,000 career points, and needs just 18 more to enter A&M's career top 10 in points scored.
The Edmond, Okla. native is widely considered one of the Top 20 players in women's college basketball, as she is also on the Wooden Award's Midseason Top 20 list, and was one of 25 named to the Wade Trophy Watch in November. Prior to the season, espnW.com named Walker the 10th-best player in the women's game.
Each year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors chooses the 50 pre-season “Naismith Watch” list as well as the mid-season team of 30 candidates. The Naismith voting academy narrows that group down to four finalists who will make up the final ballot. The voting academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, base its criteria on player performance throughout the season.
Walker and the Aggies return to the court on Thursday, February 12 at 8 p.m. to host Arkansas at Reed Arena.
The complete watch list is available here.