McMahon and Petty Named to Wooden Award Preseason Watch List
11/7/2024 3:10:00 PM | General, Women's Basketball
Junior Cotie McMahon and graduate student Ajae Petty are among 50 players named to the watch list on Wednesday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal, announced its preseason women's watch list on Wednesday. Ohio State junior forward Cotie McMahon and graduate forward Ajae Petty were among the 50 players selected to the watch list.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award® Women's Player of the Year. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award® midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award®. Wooden Award™ voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during the tournament's early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, will be presented at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11, 2025.
Prior to the start of the season, McMahon was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List and the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award Preseason Watch List.
McMahon put together impressive freshman and sophomore seasons with the Buckeyes as she totaled 1,005 career points and 400 career rebounds prior to the start of the 2024-25 season. Among Ohio State's career records, she ranks 18th in free throws made (241) and 19th in free throws attempted (370). In the Buckeyes' season opener against Cleveland State, McMahon totaled 17 points and four rebounds, adding a career-high four triples and shooting 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
In 2024, McMahon was named a regional finalist for the WBCA Coaches All-America Team in addition to AP and USBWA All-American Honorable Mention. She was one of the five finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award and was selected by the Big Ten coaches and media to the All-Big Ten First Team. McMahon was also named to the preseason and midseason watch lists for the Cheryl Miller Award, Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and the watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale USBWA National Player of the Year. She was named an honorable mention preseason AP All-American and preseason All-Big Ten. McMahon's weekly awards during the 2023-24 season include Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week, AP National Player of the Week, Big Ten Player of the Week, USBWA National Starting Five (twice and the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll (twice). McMahon was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023.
Petty joined the Buckeyes in the summer after spending her freshman and sophomore seasons at LSU and her junior and senior seasons at Kentucky. In Ohio State's season opener against Cleveland State, Petty totaled eight points and six rebounds in just under 20 minutes on the court. Last season as a senior at Kentucky, she averaged a double-double (14.2 ppg, 10.6 rpg), scoring in double figures in 25 games, and amassed 18 double-doubles to bring her career total to 20. Petty reached 500 career rebounds in the first round of the SEC Tournament and was one of only two players to record a 20-point/20-rebound performance. Petty has twice been named to the SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll, twice named to the SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll and was a member of the 2023-24 CSC Academic All-District Team.
Ohio State women's basketball tickets for the 2024-25 season are available online as Buckeye Nation continues to make Value City Arena in the Schottenstein Center one of the most exciting venues in the country.
Ticket links:
To have a member of our sales team contact you directly regarding mini plans, group or single game tickets, be sure to click here. For more information, please contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-(800)-GO-BUCKS or by emailing athletic.tix@osu.edu. Representatives are available via phone Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
#GoBucks
